 |
|
 |
| [-] |
Prev | List | Random | Next |
Happy New Year!
It's 2004 in Mudville now. So far though it reminds me a lot of 2003.
The neighbors didn't disappoint. The sky lit up with light and sound. If you have one guy in your neighborhood who's famous for home fireworks, imagine that guy is everyone on the street. That's what we have here.
As a service to those of you still living in 2003, if you have any questions about the future I'll be glad to answer them. Use the comment section.
Many years ago I had a buddy who was a regular barfly; any night of the week when he wasn't working he'd be at the corner dive knocking back a few cold ones. Any night of the year that was his routine, except one.
New Years Eve. He called it "amateur night" and he stayed home safe and sound and let the drunks have the roads to themselves.
I'll be home blogging in the New Years here in Mudville. The neighbors put on a heck of a fireworks display last year and I expect more of the same.
(Side note: we didn't expect the display last year, being our first in Germany, so we were "shocked and awed" by the local firepower.)
Anyhow, we'll be blogging in the New Year here in Mudville, compiling lists and visiting other bloggers too. Hope to see you here or there. (75 minutes to go, but note this blog is on Zulu or UTC/GMT.)
A toast to all.
Back in WWII America had guys like Ernie Pyle reporting from the front. In today's paper you could read news of last week's battles. History at your fingertips.
During Vietnam guys like Joe Galloway were on the scene.
And in Operation Iraqi Freedom there were imbedded reporters to carry on the tradition of an American Free Press in time of war.
But in our nations latest conflict history was made by a handful of military bloggers, reporting the war from a decidedly different point of view then ever before. Sure, after WWII a number of authors wrote fictionalized-based-on-fact stories of their experiences, and others wrote facts. But those stories were told through a lense made by the passage of time. The blogs from Iraq and points nearby were immediate and real, and brought Americans closer to the front in real time then they'd ever been before.
Although several bloggers were active, I imagine Smash was the first to come to mind as you read the previous paragraph. And now Smash has posted his year in review. And what a year he had, making history and blogging it, and therefore making history by blogging it.
Go visit America's #1 war correspondent of 2003.
More in the spirit of the season, my top referrers for 2003. Thanks to all; without these good folks amplifying it my voice would be very small in the blogosphere.
In no specific order, many thanks to:
Smash
Andrew Sullivan
Charles Johnson (Little Green Footballs
Scott Ott (Scrapple Face)
Thor (A Soldier's Paradise)
Misha (The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler)
Kim Du Toit
Glenn Reynolds
Chief Wiggles
Mike (Cold Fury)
Dean Esmay
Blackfive
And yes, these are big blogs that make anyone's list with very few links.
Some 6000 other blogs can't, so I have more lists on the way.
Go ping Hook's traffic counter. Make it spin. To make it worth your while he has a lot of great stuff posted for your reading pleasure. He's readying to go to Afghanistan, don't you know? And don't be shy while you're visiting his blog, I have it on good authority that Hook has a comment section and would love to have you leave greetings.
And if you're a blogger don't be the last to blogroll him. All others will want him in your favorites/bookmarks.
Hey, Hook, maybe your guys will get to find the cave-wall DNA smear that is Osama. Or do you think the gutless coward has sex-changed himself into obscurity?
Either way, I'm proud of you, soldier. And praying for strength for your family and a safe journey for you.
Part III. Part I here. Part II here.
My choices from among CNN's options for the top 10 stories of 2003:
1. Ongoing strife in Mideast - This includes "war in Iraq" and "war on terror". They're all interwoven. If you really wanted to stare into the hard face of reality you could add in Chechnya, Kashmir, and much of Africa. And Bosnia/Kosovo, the Philippines... of course, you'd need a new umbrella title. Dar al-harb, perhaps?
2. Economic ups and downs - know why this isn't on CNN's list, or the "public" list? Because it's all ups.
3. Controversy over 10 commandments list - CNN probably considers this too provincial to merit inclusion. And I'd guess people avoid controversial issues when choosing top stories; don't want to appear to be supporting that "other side." Or maybe some of that non-confrontational Christmas spirit lingers on. Whatever side you're on in regards to this issue, it's a great indicator of the nature of the mood and mindset in the American public square today. (In more ways than one.)
4. Democrats vie for Presidential nomination: The absence of this from both CNN and readers lists is remarkable. Are people missing out on all the great fun? This gives quite an open invitation to the Democratic candydates (not a spelling error) to go at it without much scrutiny. So have at it boys and girls, we wait your next pronouncements with bated breath.
5. Loss of space shuttle Columbia: This strikes close to home. I've worked with shuttle missions and know some folks who fly them. And in addition to the human cost the setback to the space program is enormous. Having grown up in the "space age" I know what it's like to be a citizen of a nation that seeks the real stars (vice Kobe, Brittney, Madonna, and Michael). If the president wants to re-energize NASA and the space program with missions to the moon, mars, or beyond, I'm all for it.
6. Standoff with North Korea: Simmering on the back burner, always close to boiling over. The number one totalitarian dictatorship I'd like to see fall (peacefully) this next year. Close to home again; when the Berlin Wall fell I was in Korea. I remember the euphoria I felt all that distance away, mixed with a tinge of sadness that the same thing would likely not happen on the Korean peninsula. But there's always hope.
7. Crisis in Liberia: Easily the "forgotten story of the year". Remember: African nation in crisis, Bush accused of not having enough compassion, floats 2,000 Marines in a boat just off shore, accused of not doing enough, situation resolved peacefully, story drops off front pages faster then shark attacks and Chandra Levy on 911. A great and forgotten example of the US's much-improved ability to resolve things peacefully (albeit by showing determination and a hint of force) in a post-Iraq war world. (Think: Libyan nuclear program.)
8. California gubernatorial recall: Hard not to vote for a story with the word "guber" in it. Okay, seriously, it's interesting that the California wildfires made the peoples' choice list and this didn't. California wildfires are as perennial as some California Wildflowers. This story is overrated at #3 on CNN's list. The "Republican revolution" may not be the best term for it, but to spin the California story any other way is a denial of reality. (An argument could be made that it's more of a Democratic failure then a Republican success.) Although this issue is somewhat uniquely Californian, more so then the 10 commandments issue is uniquely Alabamian, both have obvious reflection on, repercussions to, and reverberation in the American spirit.
9. Gay civil rights issues: This also somewhat interchangeable with the 10 commandments issue - insofar as it is a morality issue in the minds of many, and in some cases the opposing sides on both issues feature the same players. (The interesting folks are those who are the exception to that statement. Freethinkers in action!) But the banning of religion from the public square, the twisting of "Freedom of Religion" to "Freedom from Religion" is infinitely more important. The gay rights issue is one of importance, but also over-inflated by the media, a media that has probably energized both sides of the debate. Expect this to be in the top 10 for next year too, but not many after that.
10. Ahhh... that final pick's a toughie... here it is: "Heat wave blamed for thousands of deaths in Europe." (Am I the only one who finds the wording curious? It reads like they don't want to declare the heat wave guilty until after a proper trial in the World Court.) Like the recent earthquake in Bam (Hey, where's that on the list? Damn those December news stories!) this horrendous human tragedy points out the difference between the US and under-developed (or over-extended, or unconcerned) nations in dealing with environmental tragedy. (Note: another thing wrong with wording, excessive death toll was in France. Yes, that's part of Europe, but an obvious attempt to be inoffensive just makes CNN look pathetic.) Compare to the SARS outbreak, which "scores" bigger as a news story only for its scare value. The Euro-heat deaths won't spread to Peoria, you know. The most rabid spread and greatest repercussion of SARS was within news rooms. Like Anthrax, West Nile Virus, Monkey Pox, Ebola, and any other hot new disease that could get you to loosen that grip on your wallet. Listen closely during a CNN TV report and you'll hear the cheering from the boardroom. Plague is a "bread and butter" story. Like war, famine, and death in general.
I predict there will be more of each in 2004. And we'll most likely all be here to discuss it at the end.
Happy New Year.
Part II. Part I here.
CNN has a readers poll, where you can vote for your top stories of the year, posted along with their top 10. (But "capturing Saddam" is not an available option.)
Current standings:
1. War in Iraq
2. Loss of space shuttle Columbia
3. Ongoing strife in Mideast
4. Spread and consequences of SARS
5. Elizabeth Smart found alive
6. Iranian conjoined twins die in surgery
7. Economic ups and downs
8. Standoff with North Korea
9. D.C.-area sniper trials
10. California wildfires
Although listed as "candidates", these stories are notably MIA from the readers' poll:
Controversy over "Ten Commandments" monument
Democrats vie for presidential nomination
Gay civil rights issues
Heat wave blamed for thousands of deaths in Europe
Britney Spears and Madonna kiss
Ben and Jen cancel wedding plan
I guess these stories win the 'Kucinich/Braun/Kerry Award' for news in '03.
But I do think the readers did an overall better job then CNN. I note the lack of celebrity sex on their poll, the awareness of other conflict in the mideast, and the presence of North Korea.
Did Ben and Jen really cancel their wedding plans though? They were such a lovely couple. I wonder if religious differences played a part.
CNN's top 10 news stories for 03:
1. War in Iraq
2. Loss of space shuttle Columbia
3. California gubernatorial recall
4. Terror war
5. Massive August 14 blackout
6. Spread and consequences of SARS
7. Gay civil rights issues
8. Celebrities and sex charges
9. Recovery of Elizabeth Smart
10. Deaths of Qusay and Uday Hussein
Since I don't much care what CNN thinks I might have over looked the missing "capture of Saddam" as merely a part of the "war in Iraq" except for the inclusion of Qusay and Uday.
My suspicious side says it's because the brothers went down fighting while poopdeck pappy threw his hands up and offered to negotiate (Sorry, Einstein, that offer has expired), and CNN doesn't want to offend Arab sensibilities.
Could they, having already including one recovery of a missing person, not wanted two on the same theme?
I know what you're thinking, but really they could have included Saddam without leaving out their white hot celebrity sex stories. All that was required was to combine terror war with war in Iraq, as it should be.
But then where would they put the "Khadaffy gives up nukes" story?
How much drek did Andrew Sullivan Andrew Sullivan (whose site this week features a guest blogger) have to wade through to compile these awards? (Here and here.) I can't read the excerpts from the mindless testimonials that earned them without wincing in pain, or grinding my teeth.
Was that the intent of the authors? Ha! Then I lied! I laughed at their ignorance-masquerading-as-enlightened-modern-thought!
No teeth gnashing. I'll be damned if their need for a Psychiatrist will result in my need for a Dentist.
This of course, is just a warm up, my way of transitioning themes.
"T'is the season, don't you know." Which one? "You know, the season. The bestof season. The awards season. The top 10 season." Oh. Riiiight. THAT one.
More to come...
Lisa S bestows an unexpected honor on your humble servant.
We go "way back" in blog time, Lisa and I. And I can't say enough good things about her.
Thanks Lisa. Keep fighting the good fight.
I wasn't going to vote this week.
Then I found Eric at Self Composed. An active duty military guy. And he's entered the New Weblog Showcase.
That's a great name for a blog Eric.
As a two-time-showcase-loser and now ecosystem-large-mammal-with- powerful-friends-and-thousands-of-readers-that-recently-broke-into-the-top-50-blogs-by-traffic-rankings-although-not-a-blog-alliance-member-and-also-I-don't cheat-the-system-but -I-owe-it-all-to-those-powerful-friends I may have a post on the topic later this week. Unasked for "advice for contestants".
Or I might not.
My advice to you is to vote for Eric if you can. Even if you've already voted once.
This AP story ran in both the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the London Guardian
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - The Bush administration is sending 150,000 pounds of medical supplies to quake-ravaged Iran in a military airlift, government officials said Saturday.
I note the credit to the Bush admin vs. "the US". Guess the AP's first-line editors were off for Christmas.
Oops. The Holidays, I mean.
The first round of airlift aid is launching from Kuwait. It's a good thing we were near by and ready, eh Osama? Must have been the Will of Allah.
But seriously... this is one of those events where you're truly proud to serve. Though arguably not the mission of the military it’s hard not to swell a bit with pride when you're in the service of a nation that can do this sort of thing on short order, and does it.
Now can someone explain this obsessively bizarre coverage from CNN?
The flights are the first U.S. military flights into Iran since an elite force tried to rescue U.S. hostages there in April 1980. That mission ended in a fiery crash in a remote part of the country known afterward as Desert One.Two U.S. military C-130 planes landed at Kerman Airport Sunday morning, about 120 miles from Bam, airport officials said. A third plane was expected to follow shortly, with at least two other flights arriving later.
Operation Desert One was a failed, top-secret mission designed to rescue 66 hostages held in the capital, Tehran.
Mechanical problems in Iran's Great Salt Desert caused the mission to be aborted. As one of six helicopters departed, it crashed into a C-130 cargo plane, causing an explosion that killed eight servicemen.
The U.S. did not try a second rescue attempt, and the hostages were eventually released.
What the...?
Interweaving this story with Desert One? Other then reminding Americans of a miserable failure, what purpose does that serve, exactly? Do we alternate paragraphs in current events stories on North Korea with details about the battle of Chosin Reservoir?
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea overspent its military budget this year to boost "offensive and defensive" strike capabilities in the face of mounting tensions with the United States over its nuclear weapons programs, a top North Korean official said yesterday.During the Korean war, US troops landed at Inchon on 15 September 1950, liberated Seoul, marched northward and captured Pyongyang on 19 October.
Hmmmm... maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea...
Now back to Iran.
Dear CNN,
Thank you for not mentioning the Bush administration in your report on aid to Iran. That right-wing dominated AP fawned over the President as though he was the second coming of Christ. Iraq+Bush=Dean 04! Iran+America=Dean 04!
Here's another story you can use for free. I wrote it all by myself:
IRAN (MVG News) The United States government is currently working with Iranian authorities, the United Nations, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent to rapidly deploy humanitarian assistance to the people of Iran following yesterday's devastating earthquake in Bam.The last hungry Islamic nation in turmoil the US attempted to help was Somalia during President Clinton's administration.
The first American aid shipment to Iran arrived early Sunday aboard two U.S. military transport planes that landed in the city of Kerman, about 200 kilometers from Bam.During a firefight in Mogadishu, 18 American soldiers died while attempting to round up a group of lieutenants of Somalian warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Estimates on the Somali death toll range from 500-1500.
The United States will deploy civilian teams composed of more than 200 experts in urban search and rescue, emergency surgery, and disaster response coordination -- including medical response teams from Boston, Massachusetts, and local disaster response teams from Los Angeles, California, and Fairfax County, Virginia. Disaster response experts will also be drawn from USAID, FEMA, and the Department of State, and the US military will deliver more than 150,000 pounds of medical supplies from bases in Kuwait to the people of Iran.
Shortly after the "Blackhawk Down" episode President Clinton ordered the Americans to flee Somalia. Many right wing loonies, perhaps fueled by claims from Al-Qaeda confirming the allegation, believe this show of presidential cowardice contributed to the events of 911.
The United States will continue to work with Iranian authorities and international relief organizations to help the people of Iran during this challenging time.
And oh by the way, this cute little feller might or (might not) cause problems.
(Pray for the people of Bam.)
Movie about a racing bird?
Airmen? So not-PC. MArines, sailors, soldiers, no problem.
Across America today, in churches and in homes, prayers will go out to the people of Arg-e-Bam.
Photo galleries from Blog Iran can be found here and here.
Steve, in an interesting post with a great discussion, has links to organizations that can help.
The lights still glow, the tree still stands, but the gifts are put away.
Do they show the messages to the front (or home from the front) on your local TV?
We get them here in Germany on Armed Forces Television; deployed folks on camera, shouting hello and season's greetings to their loved ones here in the Bundesrepublik. "Hi I'm Sgt Soandso, and I wanna say hi to my wife and kids in Germany! Happy holidays honey, I love you!!"
Great stuff, and I'm sure it means much to the recipient of the message.
But "Happy holidays"?
Lileks noted this in a near-empty Mall.
At the Mall on Tuesday it was almost the Holiday That Dare Not Speak Its Name; there were references to the season, and things festive. The very word "t'is" has become a code word for Christmas, a wink and a nod. "T'is the season." Which one? "You know, the season. The festive season." Oh. Riiiight. THAT one.
Bad enough there, but in greetings within families? Maybe I'm insensitive here, but the generic greeting, required in the public square, is now the phrase of choice used between husbands, wives, and children?
Really, whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or Festivus, has it come to that? Are we afraid to offend our loved ones with specific greetings?
Or were the folks told what to say by the camera crews? (I know what I'd say to the camera crews if they told me what to say.)
I don't think that's the case. I'm afraid the reason is even more depressing. "Happy holidays (short for 'Happy generic holiday occurring somewhere around the winter solstice') is becoming the American greeting for December. Folks say it without thinking about it. It likely sounds right to them.
Though not to me.
Merry Christmas America. Happy Hanukah. Say it loud, and unapologetically.
And speaking of Lileks, do not say farewell to Christmas '03 (or all of '03 for that matter) without reading all of Lileks' Christmas posts. Start with Monday and go from there. Finish the week. It will take you all of 15 minutes. (And then you'll probably want to read them again.) If you've never read Lileks before I'll humbly accept your thanks for pointing you in that direction.
But then come back here and follow this link to Scott Ott's incredible Christmas entry. Not your typical ScrappleFace fare (and thanks Scott, for the link to the Bob Hope entry. A rare honor.)
Definitely the way to close out Christmas. (Though I'm ever reluctant to do so, my Christmas spirit flares brightest on the days just after!)
And prepare for New Years!
(Wait, can we say 'New Years' without offending the Chinese, Koreans, Muslims, Jews, and any one on the lunar calendar?)
Poor Jim. He had pefected the art of blogging in obscurity, then made the mistake of joining the Friends of MilBlogs.
Poor Jim just does everything wrong.
It's never too late!
Just because Christmas is over doesn't mean these folks don't deserve some holiday cheer! Please help fill the "stockings"! It's free, and you'll feel better for doing it.
Thanks!
More good economic recovery news from Long Island Newsday. You can't credit Clinton or Christmas for this one:
Baghdad, Iraq - Although their electricity runs sporadically and gasoline lines stretch for miles, Iraqis are enjoying unprecedented availability of commercial goods, from cars to satellite dishes to portable exercise machines.The fall of Saddam Hussein also ended a United Nations trade embargo, import tariffs and, in the absence of a government, sales taxes, which cut prices on appliances, electronic goods and other imports to as low as half their pre-war level. At the same time, some Iraqis are making unprecedented wages as the U.S.-led coalition has dramatically increased public-sector salaries and pensions and contracting fees.
"The Americans, they pay good money," said Haider Riad, an engineer whose salary doubled - from $110 to $220 a month - under a U.S. Army contract. He was shopping for a new refrigerator, washing machine and satellite dish one recent evening.
Catch the reference to absence of taxes? No wonder so many Democrat presidential candidates want us out of there quickly. Our troops could pick up bad foreign ideas and customs.
Two weeks after the fall of Hussein, Ali Mohammed converted his women's shoe store in Baghdad into an outlet for satellite dishes. He has sold 2,000 in eight months for about $200 each. "Every Iraqi wants a satellite," Mohammed said.
And satellite TV arrives in a nation where previously it was illegal to own one. You know sales will be hot. What does everyone want most? That which they can't have. So along with satellite, of course, comes information...
Satellite dishes were illegal under Hussein - possession was punishable by 6 months in prison - and their sudden ubiquity has brought perhaps the most profound cultural change to Iraq, which previously had only state-run television. Iraqis are now watching American movies and British news, where they are learning the extent of Hussein's atrocities."Now we know there were thousands of massacres," said Mohammed. "We were shocked."
As I am shocked to learn that British news is broadcasting anti-Saddam information. Quite a contrast from some networks I could name...
American news, of course, is fair and balanced. As proof I offer the concluding paragraphs to the above story...
But the new consumer culture is being undermined by a new lawlessness that prompts retailers who might have stayed open until midnight to close at 8 p.m. And the chronic power outages frustrate new satellite owners such as Usama Hashim, who bought a six-foot dish in July but has electricity for only one or two hours a day. "A TV without electricity; what's it worth?" he asked. "It's like putting a rock on the table."
Six foot dish? No wonder he's angry. Yep, room for improvement.
Although the new availability of goods results directly from the U.S.-led overthrow of Hussein, it has not brought a groundswell of goodwill."No, no, no," said Waseem Hassan, an electronics store owner, when asked if being able to sell satellite dishes made him feel better about the United States. "There is no electricity, there is no water, there is no safety." And then, as if on cue, the lights in his store went out.
Obviously we've failed miserably. I hope the Brits don't report it on their news!
Part V
(Part I here Part II here Part III here Part IV here)
Speaking of time...
...here's a gift I got for Christmas this year. I get one of these about every two years now. The bands and the batteries last about that long. I run and bike a lot, so maybe I wear them out faster then some folks.
Grown up stuff. Sort of. I got my first ever watch back when that catalog I linked to in the first post in this series was new. I wanted GI Joe and got the watch. It was cool though. I had a watch. I was growing up!
Tick... tick... tick - watches don't even do that any more...
Time accelerates, you know. It doesn't move at a steady pace. Or does our perspective change? I'm not really sure.
For the first time in almost 20 years Santa did not stop by our house this year. The youngest is 13 next month. I say Santa should have visited in spite of the lack of faith.
So it goes.
As I write this a glance at my new watch tells me Christmas has a very few hours left here. Even if I stop the watch it won't matter.
Don't get me wrong, Christmas is good and the passage of time doesn't bother me that much.
Nor should it bother you.
Part IV (Part I here Part II here Part III here)
And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you...
And you're too old for games, baby. And you're a rock and roller and the world is yours and Santa knows you want a Fender Srat and a Marshall Stack. Eternal youth!
It's short lived, isn't it?
Continue reading "Ghosts of Christmas"...
Part III (Part I here Part II here)
Speaking of models...
But we made games of scary things...
Part II (Part I here)
The space age! Funny that sounds old fashioned to me; have we advanced or withdrawn?
Of course, once you were a bit older Robbie Robot wasn't cool enough. The Zeroids were all the rage. |  |  | And Major Matt Mason and his team replaced Billy Blastoff. |
 |  |  |
Continue reading Ghosts of Christmas...
Need more Christmas spirit? Winds of Change hosts this week's Carnival of the Vanities, with a Christmas theme (of course).
UPDATE: Just because Christmas is over doesn't mean these folks don't deserve some holiday greetings! I'll continue to update, please help fill the "stockings"! Thanks!
Okay, he's no longer with us, so this holiday season you can be Bob Hope. Visit these GI's (and veterans and spouses) around the world and drop a bit of cheer into the stockings that are their comment sections. That includes you folks who read but have never commented on a blog before - I know you're out there. Wish good tidings to these folks, many of whom are far from home enabling your safe season.
I'll update this list routinely, with new entries at the top. Check back when you can for more. (And feel free to e-mail me with links to additional military bloggers).
Without further ado...
update 8: I almost forgot a fellow MilBlogger stationed in Germany. This young lady is an Air Force Airman, working for a living for God and country far from home and family. On Christmas. And she requests comments for her friend Greg, who isn't feeling the spirit. Careful though, she's a homicidal maniac.
update 7: Its always contrast.
Jason is Just Another Soldier readying to deploy, and you can take that jouney with him. (Sort of, insofar as he writes well enough that you will think you are with him.) He's miserable, by the way. Or at least was when he last posted. But I'll bet he's over it. Christmas and all, you know.
And Jasminepetal waits, but uses her Christmas time to post great stuff. Do not miss the First Christmas entry.
But Baghdaddy has a great re-cap of the past year in Iraq, food for thought on if it was all worthwhile. Don't miss it.
But don't forget to leave season's greetings!
update 6: I'm not linking a specific post on Andi's blog because then you'd miss seeing what a great front page she has. She's another spouse with a deployed husband, but he's coming home soon. Just too late for Christmas. Can you spare a bit of cheer?
Thor, on the other hand, made it home on time to start a new household and be with his wife and son on his first Christmas. Cool.
And Doc Russia got home from the Marines a long while back, but has a Christmas story you don't want to miss.
update 5: Surely everyone's wished a merry Christmas and happy new year to Chief Wiggles by now? Actually, surprisingly few folks have, considering all the things that the Chief has done these past few months. Got time for a quick salutation to the Chief?
And Citizen Smash has links to some deployed bloggers too. Christmas in the Sand box is here. (But Smash's Christmas post is here.)
update 4: The last of my fellow "German" bloggers (60-odd years later we're still in das quagmire): Sarah at trying to Grok. Always great and thoughtful things to be found at Sarah's blog, visitors please report here and leave Christmas tidings.
update 3: Christmas presents, or "everytime a bell rings, a jumper gets his wings!"
Bejuspundit earned his wings. Then made it home for Christmas.
Update 3a: Working for a living...
Ed is deployed somewhere in Africa supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. And he's working Christmas so his troops won't have to.
He also linked to a poem at Blackfive's. The warrior-poet spirit is alive and well in the blogosphere.
Update 2: You do eventually get home. (At least, 99% do.)
DarthVOB is home, but he spent Christmas 1990 helping liberate Kuwait. Read his tale and you'll know why it couldn't have been done without him. Don't forget to tell him merry Christmas and thanks for the memories!
And speaking of getting home, the Fusilier Pundit has a multi-part story for you, of trying to get home for Christmas from OEF in '01. (That's Operation Enduring Freedom, friends. Remember Afghanistan?) Thank him for the story he lived, please, before you leave.
So there you go. A lesson for the deployed; you'll get there, and when you do home will be all the sweeter. So my fine Athiest Soldier, have faith! (And fine readers, please offer this young man some encouraging words!)
Update 1: These folks require a bit of extra effort on your parts. They have no comments sections and must be emailed (addresses on their sites). I think having their inboxes filled on Christmas morning would be great, 'cause they've all been nice not naughty.
Jason is in Iraq Now and got to jam a bit for a USO audience. A troop entertaining the troops! (Not unusual at all, believe me.) He's also been posting great ground truth for some time; a terrific counter to some other "sources" you're likely familiar with.
And here's an example of contrast:
Capt Patti is just-got-home-from-Baghdad with Tim (I suppose they think of Germany as home, for now at least). Chromedome is not home with his wonderful Mrs., but she's trying to smile. You'll see what I mean. Strong people. Please wish them all well. (Chromedomezone does have a guestbook here)
The first links:
Major Pain's letters from Balad have been the blogosphere's version of M*A*S*H for several months. Her holiday related entries are here and here.
John Galt is a veteran, now serving with the CPA in Iraq, and blogging at Deeds. Christmas related posts here. (and scroll on for more.)
And here's An Army Wife, living in Germany while her husband is deployed to Iraq. She's talking about missing Christmas with her folks here, but I'm sure she's missing lots more. Spread cheer!
Hook is spending Christmas in Hawaii with his family, but is readying to deploy. His Christmas post is here.
That's all for now, more to come!
The seasons change, and winter comes to the hilltop where I live. There's a dusting of snow on the ground, and flurries falling. There's a fire in the fireplace.
The trees are without leaves, and the forest is smaller though the view is larger; you can see out the other side. It's just a hundred-acre wood, after all.
Last week we walked the dogs, the Mrs., the kids and I. Before the snow had covered the ground. An early morning with frost; rime edged every individual leaf, froze them into solid chips of burnt gold. Infinite detail; amazing artistry. So good to have a family together this time of year, so far from home, where so many do not.
Later that day we saw The Return of the King. (Note: there are no spoilers in the discussion ahead.) Our local theater had it in English on at least two screens and Deutsch on others. We braved the opening day crowd and experienced no disappointment in the movie, of course. Except, perhaps, it was too short. Why make us all wait for the extended version? The others were understandable. No one would have released the first movie in its uncut glory; too risky. Whether to renew interest and fill gaps just before the release of the subsequent episode or just to maximize profit, the first two extended versions were in my opinion the best use yet of the DVD medium. I suppose fiscal concerns of theater owners must trump fan desires in this case, so we wait another many months for the real final installment in the series. So be it; everyone involved certainly deserves the profits they'll take.
I went to the movie with pure enjoyment as my goal, but I couldn't deny a desire to see if a theme from the first two movies would carry through to the third. An amazing connection to events of the day, a line of dialogue to resonate within my mind as amazingly applicable to current events. Fellowship when Gandalf discusses fate with Frodo: We don't choose the times in which we are born. So soon after 911. Towers, Wormtongue's words to Théoden: Do not listen to these warmongers! As the very situation played out in the real world.
Then in Return: Aragorn at the gates of Mordor calls out the dark leader of the dark lands. Where is he? Send him out! I cringe at the all too obvious analogy.
Tolkien himself is said to have hated analogy and denied any existed in his work. I suppose there's the truth at the core of the success of this epic; good vs. evil, persevere against odds to ultimate (though not inevitable) triumph; a story that transcends specific examples and thus encompasses so many.
On that topic of persevere against odds I note the passing of two anniversaries. Nearly sixty years ago a very few miles from here Americans withstood the final German counter attack of WWII. If you haven't seen Band of Brothers yet, if you haven't seen the postscript, where a legless man stands on crutches at the edge of the woods and surveys the land he made free, then you should. There was a commemoration of that battle held this past weekend. I'd have liked to have been there. Survivors from both sides, along with citizens of all nations, walk the battle lines and remember, or imagine. I'd have liked to have done that; to have felt a hint of that cold they felt. To have wondered at how they could have endured that cold with mortar rounds and shrapnel raining down among them.
And a couple weeks and 53 years ago, the First Marine Division and the Army's 7th Infantry Division battled out from Chosin, fought free from 120,000 Chinese soldiers and lived to fight another day. (At least those with all their fingers and toes intact. Frostbite is an unforgiving foe.) If you're not familiar with America's war with China you can start learning here. Then here and here. If there's a commemorative event at Chosin then no Americans will be taking part. There will be no joining of old enemies in peaceful times.
This year.
And speaking of this year, I see out the window the snow is about an inch deep now. And it's cold. And I'm inside with a fire. And the wife and the kids and the dogs.
And my daughter has a friend over. And that friend's dad will spend Christmas in Iraq. And her mom, here in Germany, has not decorated their house this year. Not even a tree.
I missed the Bastogne event because I was working this past weekend. And I'll miss about 10 hours of Christmas with my family for the same reason. We're 24/7/365 at my shop. And I'm not complaining.
Who knows what next year will bring?
Greyhawk wasn't always grey...
And in young Greyhawk's world nothing made Christmas a more tangible reality than the annual arrival of the Sears Christmas catalog.
Once you could flip those pages you could really start to plan your Christmas in earnest. You knew just what toys you wanted, just by looking at those flat, two- dimensional images. In your minds eye, of course, you were already playing with them.
I was never a greedy kid; I rarely wanted more then 2 or 3 toys from each page of the catalog. I'd dilligently circle them, and to this day I vividly recall the 95% I never got as among the major disappointments of the first decade-and-a half of my life.
See the GI Joes? They were not really combat soldiers at that point in history, they were more "adventurers" with life-like hair and kung-fu grip.
Every day I wanted a different one. Some days I wanted all of 'em.
But let me assure you I got plenty of stuff for Christmas. To this day I'm not sure how the folks could have done it.
Proof in my mind, of Santa Claus.
Katie Couric about 2 seconds ago (Today, 22 Dec 2003): "Tell me why there's no woman on the cover?"
Jim Kelly from Time: " That is a Woman."
Katie: "Oh."
Me: "Idiot".
More: Here
Stories on the details of the hunt for Saddam should be plentiful for a while. This one from Newsweek contains what will likely be among the first of many embellishments of the "official" version:
The Special Forces commando had already pulled the pin. He was primed to toss the grenade into the "spider hole," a Vietnam-era nickname for lethal hiding places. But the man cowering inside did not use the pistol resting in his lap. He raised both hands in submission and, speaking in English, announced, "I am Saddam Hussein, I am the president of Iraq and I'm willing to negotiate."As the story was later told, one of the Special Forces operators looked down at the disheveled, bearded, seemingly dazed man and replied, "President Bush sends his regards." And coming out of the hole, Saddam accidentally bumped his head. But a knowledgeable U.S. official told NEWSWEEK that it didn't quite happen that way. In fact, as Saddam was being handcuffed, he began to struggle with his captors. He spat at the soldiers. One of the commandos decked him, either with a punch or a rifle butt. (The military later tidied up the story of his capture for popular consumption.)
So ended one of the biggest and most maddening manhunts in history. The Americans had tried and failed to kill Saddam Hussein with laser-guided 2,000-pound bombs at the beginning and toward the end of the invasion of Iraq last spring. He had slipped out of Baghdad as American forces were advancing on the Iraqi capital in early April and vanished. Offers of a $25 million reward and all the secret listening devices of American technology had failed to find the Butcher of Baghdad. In the end, the capture of the man known to the military as High Value Target 1 (HVT-1) or Black List 1 (BL-1) required drudgery, patience and a bit of luck.
The tale is a good one; though we'll surely never know the full truth. Details like the "punch in the face" sound urban-legendary, with a special resonance to the "if it ain't true, it oughta be" aspect of this one. Who wouldn't have wanted to throw that punch, at the slightest twitch of the captive? The 'spit' detail, of course, provides ample justification, right?
Still I note the obligatory "failure" references in the third paragraph. Nice balance there, Newsweek. Am I reading too much into that? The London Times (their version is subscription only; Fox has an excerpt here) seems to want to hint at the "cost" aspect too.
LONDON ? The potted palm looked strangely familiar to Nada Yunis, a 36-year-old Iraqi businesswoman.She suddenly realized as she watched Saddam Hussein on TV that he was sitting in her living room.
<...>
As she watched the latest pictures of Saddam talking to senior aides, she recognized the orange curtains. The aides were sitting on her dining room chairs, and the palm stood where she had left it.
It was as close as anyone would come to identifying Saddam's precise location.
The next day, a CIA informant claimed to have spotted the elusive president entering another Mansur compound only half a mile from Yunis' home.
Within 45 minutes, an Air Force B-1 bomber demolished the compound with four precision-guided bunker-busting bombs.
"Just in case he didn't die before, let's have him die again," joked a U.S. intelligence official.
Of course, Saddam was not dead.
And it would take eight frustrating months and one of the world's most expensive manhunts to track him down to a hole in the ground.
World's most expensive manhunt? Was the whole thing about the president getting the guy that tried to kill his dad? We haven't dusted that one off lately have we?
No, surely I'm overreacting. All the coverage of the fall of Saddam is celebratory, isn't it? And the closing paragraphs of the London Times story are meant to point out the eternal flame of human hope, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that said hope is misplaced right?
Not everyone believes this is really happening, however. Diehards say Saddam is free. Awja, his home town, is gripped by the rumour about a little girl who was walking in the street crying last week.A black BMW pulled up and the man inside asked: "Why are you crying?" She said she was crying because her president was captured. He laughed, and she recognised the laugh. It was Saddam. He gave her money for sweets, and said: "Stop crying, go to school, and be sure I will never be captured."
What a heartwarming tale. Just in time for Christmas!
A series of quotes that caught my attention from here and there around the blogosphere. Things that made me say "hmmmmm..." (Then: "wish I'd thought of that!") They are much more brilliant, of course, in the context of the full stories from which I culled them.
Lisa S. at Right Voices gets a nice shot off at the new Madeleine Albright battalion of the tin-foil-hat brigade:
"Also, I think President Bush also has the entire Middle East Peace Crisis solved and a Peace plan in place that all parties can agree on - - but he's waiting until right before the election to unroll it to the general public."
Bejus pundit, typing through the pain of jump school, notes:
The fact that no foreign terrorists were captured in this first major raid underscores how fragmented Al Queda has become...if they aren't taking advantage of the opportunity to wreak havoc in post-war Iraq, it's because they can't take advantage of it.
Darren Kaplan injects grim common sense into the discussion of court veto of wartime presidential powers and responsibilities:
As regards Mr. Padilla, if the Constitution permits the President to order the killing of those who threaten the United States under the inherent powers of Commander in Chief, why should we be shocked to find that the Constitution also permits the President to hold such persons for the duration of the hostilities?
And Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit scores twice on media coverage in Iraq:
But, really, I'd be happy if the news business were in the news business, instead of letting itself be embarrassingly scooped by Iraqi dentists with digicams and blogs.Hey, here's another reason why this war isn't Vietnam -- this time around, it's the news media who don't want the real story to get out. . . .
What can I say? Indeed.
Heh.
Is it because of Christmas? Every one in a while I find a story that doesn't directly (or indirectly) attack the policies of the U.S. Of course, balanced or pro-American reporting invariably comes from a very few sources, and AJC seems to be one.
From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 18, 2003
Note: this from print edition, not available on line.
Wounded Find A New MissionBy George Edmonson, Staff
Washington -- Marine Capt. Jason Frei followed a path taken by many of those hurt on the battlefield in Iraq.
An artillery officer from North Dakota who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Frei was in a Humvee advancing toward Baghdad in the early days of the invasion when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the vehicle.
He was helicoptered to facilities in Kuwait, flown to a military hospital in Germany and then transported to the United States.
One of more than 280 Marines injured in combat since the beginning of the fight to topple Saddam Hussein's government, Frei lost much of his right arm, which has been replaced by a prosthesis.
After being treated at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center just outside Washington, he took 30 days of convalescent leave in San Diego and then headed back to his base at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Among his first actions was applying to remain in the Marines. Another was going out to meet other returning troops injured overseas in the hopes of passing along encouraging words.
"You have to maintain a positive attitude," said Frei, 31. "You have to. You can decide to let this slow you down, just like any other adversity you would run into in your life. I can't do that."
Today, others wounded in Iraq probably will hear words of encouragement from President Bush, who will be visiting patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.
The scene will be familiar to Pfc. Adam McLain.
"I met the president" at Walter Reed, said McLain, 22, a military police officer in the National Guard who is now home in Havre, Mont.
McLain, who is recuperating from injuries suffered in Iraq, has a photograph of himself with Bush, but the college student admitted he doesn't recall a great deal about the meeting because he was "heavily morphinated."
Bush's visit is one of several he's made to see injured troops at the complex named after a noted 19th century Army physician who did pioneering work on yellow fever. But some critics argue that soldiers wounded in Iraq are not receiving the attention they deserve.
About 2,100 patients from the war have been treated at Walter Reed, including 368 battle casualties, according to the hospital. The overall Army figures show about 1,900 soldiers have been wounded in action in Iraq and about 7,800 others have suffered non-combat related injuries, including diseases.
This is far more than in the Persian Gulf War and Bosnia, but it pales in comparison to other wars.
"In Korea and Vietnam, they were coming back 500 a week," said Cy Kammeier, national public relations director for the Military Order of the Purple Heart, which has about 40,000 members. "This is almost nothing in comparison -- which is good."
In addition to complaints that not enough attention is being paid the wounded, some critics of the Bush administration contend news coverage of funerals at Arlington National Cemetery has been restricted. They also say a blackout on coverage of bodies returning to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware is designed to hide the toll on U.S. troops.
But administration officials argue they are merely trying to ensure the privacy of families and conduct the operations with dignity.
Last month at Fort Carson, Colo., Bush met with the families of 26 soldiers killed in the war. It was one of several such meetings, according to White House spokeswoman Clair Buchan. The president's Thanksgiving Day trip to visit U.S. troops in Baghdad also served to tamp down criticism.
Private groups, such as the Disabled American Veterans, also are reaching out to the wounded and their families.
With U.S. troops facing more grenade and explosives attacks in the Iraq war, the types of injuries are changing: more blast injuries, fewer gunshot wounds.
The largest component of injuries involve arms and legs, said Lt. Col. Van Coots, a physician who serves as senior medical staff officer for health policy and services with the Surgeon General's Office. Improved body armor and protective Kevlar helmets are two advances that afford more protection to the trunk and head, he said.
In addition to the armor, he cited increased training for medics, new life-saving products employed on the battlefield and surgical units working closer to the front. "So we really are taking care of these guys within that 'golden hour,' that first hour after wounding when saving the life is so critical," he said.
Haven't found this on their website yet, but I'll link when I can.
School's Gift: Wounded GI's Kids Will Make A Holiday VisitBy Eileen Kelley, Special to The Denver Post
COLORADO SPRINGS - Schoolteacher Liz Follon didn't have to borrow an overtold story to teach her third-grade class a lesson on remembering the less fortunate during the holiday season.
Instead, Follon's classroom, along with the rest of Grant Elementary School, created a real-life holiday story.
In a matter of a week, kids at the 500-student school in north-central Colorado Springs dug deep into their piggy banks, unearthed crumpled dollar bills from secret hiding spots and did extra chores around the house to raise money for airline tickets and hotel accommodations for two fellow students. In the end, they gathered about $3,000.
That means Anthony Mitchell, 8, and Megan Mitchell, 7, can visit their injured soldier father at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for Christmas. They wouldn't be able to go without their classmates' help.
Staff Sgt. Roy Mitchell of Indiana was severely burned and lost part of his left leg in a land-mine explosion in Afghanistan on Nov. 23. The 32-year-old from Fort Drum in New York was one of 21 wounded soldiers recovering as of Wednesday at Walter Reed.
The military hospital has a special dinner and other events planned for Christmas. But Mitchell has no idea his children are coming next week to surprise him. The last time Megan and Anthony saw their father was in June, as he was preparing to deploy.
"It's just so awesome," said Jeanne Fears, the school's head secretary. "One little boy said last night that if that was his dad, he'd want to be there at Christmas, too, so that's why he pitched in."
For Anthony and Megan, seeing their father alive will help allay fears they have about his health and safety, said Jennifer Mitchell, the children's mother.
Jennifer Mitchell, who is divorced from Roy Mitchell, said she never expected the students to rally around Anthony and Megan the way they did. All she did, she said, was inform the school that if Anthony and Megan were acting out and having trouble, officials should know their father was badly injured. But word of the injured soldier spread quickly.
"It's a Christmas blessing, and it will be a Christmas they will remember forever," she said. "We are trying to keep that element of surprise. That is the greatest gift they have for their dad this year."
The children's anticipation and pride are growing.
Each day Anthony asks Follon, his teacher, for the number of days left until he can see his father again.
"They are so very excited," Jennifer Mitchell said. "Anthony answers the phone, 'Hello, my name is Anthony, and my daddy is a hero. Who are you?"'
Earlier this week Follon sent the boy home with a bundle of letters and hand-drawn pictures from his classmates, gifts for his father. The letters are filled with words of love, prayer and concern, not only for Roy Mitchell, but also for Anthony, Follon said.
"It was unbelievable. They were so involved and so motivated and excited to write (the letters), which is not normal when we have to write a story," said Follon. "This is the true meaning of the holidays. They are giving to somebody who they don't know. They have never even seen (Anthony's) father."
100 years ago today, the Wright Brothers invented flight.
or the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum
Probably the best thing about flying is when GIs get to fly home. Have you visited Operation Hero Miles yet?
Glenn did. (Thanks Glenn.)
(Note - above picture by my daughter when she was in middle school; she won a contest with that one. She said I could use it but she made me promise not to tell it was hers.)
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright insisted Wednesday that she was just kidding when she wondered aloud whether the Bush administration is holding Usama bin Laden captive, waiting to break him out at the best political moment.It was a "tongue-in-cheek comment and was not intended in any other way," Albright told Fox News.
But witnesses to Albright's comment said the ambassador did not appear to be joking Tuesday when she suggested President Bush may reveal bin Laden's capture as an "October surprise" (search) before next November's presidential election.
Albright was in the Fox News studio's green room waiting to appear on an evening program when she made the remark.
"She said, 'Do you suppose that the Bush administration has Usama bin Laden hidden away somewhere and will bring him out before the election?'" said Fox News analyst and Roll Call executive editor Mort Kondracke. "She was not smiling."
Two makeup artists who prep the guests before their appearances also reported that Albright did not ask her question in a joking manner.
Interesting, coming from someone who recently (dated 8 Dec) made this somewhat rambling statement on the failure to capture or kill Osama Bin laden and Saddam Hussein:
"Saddam Hussein's continued life is more of a problem than Osama bin Laden's. Because if we look at what has been happening with the insurgency [in Iraq] and stories in the last few days [about] funds that Saddam Hussein somehow has access to ... in many ways he has a lot of levers he was used to pulling. The question is whether the strings are attached... His continued life is creating huge problems. And while the [Bush] administration is basically saying none of this matters any more, I think it does matter. Whether they capture him there is no way of telling. Osama bin Laden ...I think it would be better if Osama bin Laden were captured. That is what they promised us and it hasn't happened."
And this on Afghanistan from a story dated 13 Dec "Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar are still at large and warlords continue to rule."
And this classic from just a couple months ago:
The United States would now be safer and more popular overseas had Al Gore instead of George W. Bush won the 2000 presidential election, former secretary of state Madeleine Albright said in remarks published yesterday.In an opinion piece published in the September/October 2003 issue of the scholarly journal Foreign Affairs, Albright also accused the Bush administration of blundering by invading Iraq before Afghanistan was truly stabilised, Osama bin Laden had been caught and his al-Qaeda network smashed.
"I remain convinced that had Al Gore been elected president, and had the attacks of September 11 still happened, the United States and NATO would have gone to war in Afghanistan together, then deployed forces all around that country and stayed to rebuild it," she wrote.
So if it's true, why the sudden reversal on the claim?
My theory: Angling for a veep slot on the Dean ticket.
Dean Dec 1: I don't know. There are many theories about it. The most interesting theory that I've heard so far, which is nothing more than a theory, I can't—think it can't be proved, is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis. Now, who knows what the real situation is, but the trouble is that by suppressing that kind of information, you lead to those kinds of theories, whether they have any truth to them or not, and then eventually they get repeated as fact. So I think the president is taking a great risk by suppressing the clear, the key information that needs to go to the Kean commission.Dec 9:
Scott Spradling, WMUR-TV: Governor Dean, you had once stated that you thought it was possible that the president of the United States had been forewarned about the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You later said that you didn't really know.A statement like that, don't you see the possibility of some Democrats being nervous about statements like that leading them to the conclusion that you are not right for being the next commander in chief?
Howard Dean: Well, in all due respect, I did not exactly state that.
Update: I'm kidding!!!
Update: No I'm not!
Update: Yes I was!
As President Bush suggests the imposition of a tough new "sanction" on Saddam Hussein (if so approved by an Iraqi court) some Europeons and a Vatican spokescardinal cautiously urged caution in dealing with the deposed rapist, murderer, and dictator of Iraq.
"Let's just see what penalty he gets, but I think he ought to receive the ultimate penalty ... for what he has done to his people," Bush said in a TV interview broadcast Tuesday. "I mean, he is a torturer, a murderer, they had rape rooms. This is a disgusting tyrant who deserves justice, the ultimate justice."The Vatican's Cardinal Renato Martino felt "compassion" for Saddam, despite his crimes, after seeing images of "this destroyed man" being "treated like a cow, having his teeth checked" by an American military medic.
Actually, he was probably looking for a suicide capsule, Padre. To prevent Saddy from committing a sin, if you will. And as far as "cow" treatment, I just had my annual dental checkup. I'll admit it wasn't very fun, but I can't say it occurred to me to feel "cow-like" at the time. You see, dental visits are just a part of life... in America.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the world body opposes the death penalty. The European Union shares his view."We believe there are no circumstances that can justify the death penalty," said Diego Ojeda, the EU's spokesman on external relations.
Searching tirelessly for additional supporting quotes, the intrepid AP reporter who filed this copy stumbled happily upon...
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who supported the U.S.-led war that ousted Saddam, also emphasized his country's opposition to the death penalty.The international community and the Iraqi leadership "must show the Iraqis that an alternative to the past decades' terror regimes exists," Denmark's Berlingske Tidende newspaper said.
How many "world figures" would perhaps approve of "one last warning" for Saddam prior to setting him free as an example of the "right way to do business" for the Iraqi people?
Update on the Cardinal from Instapundit.
GOOD MORNING AMERICA ABC TV DECEMBER 15, 2003
Interview With Soldiers Involved In Saddam's Capture
DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS: We have got our satellite up and once again, we go to Specialist John Iverson and Specialist Ryan Brescher. And there they are joining us from Iraq. And, as I said, we know this is a good morning for the two of you.
Specialist Iverson, I'm going to start with you. As you are heading in, you've got your night vision goggles on, you are heading into this compound. Did you know you were going for Saddam Hussein?
SPECIALIST JOHN IVERSON, DRIVER, 4TH DIVISION, 1ST BRIGADE: We had been informed that that was a possible target that we were going after. We always keep our minds open because we never actually know if what we are going after is there.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) And Specialist Brescher, were your, were your hearts pounding?
SPECIALIST RYAN BRESCHER, GUNNER, 4TH DIVISION, 1ST BRIGADE: Yeah, we were a little excited about the events that could take place. It's a big event. He's a man we've been looking for for a long time. So, yeah, we were, we were pumped up about it.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) Now, Specialist Brescher, was that luck that somebody saw the spider hole or did you all have a tip to go specifically to that place?
BRESCHER: Actually, that was information that we weren't, we weren't given, we were really told of the area, not really the -specifics on the information.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) And Specialist Brescher, I know that through your night vision goggles, you did see Saddam Hussein being pulled out of that hole. We've heard he was disoriented, that he had bumped his head even. Could you tell, was he wobbling around, did he seem off-balance?
BRESCHER: Actually, yes, he did. The terrain was also, the field's a little torn up. But, yes, as they, as they were escorting him out, he was very disoriented. Couldn't tell what was going on.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) And Specialist Iverson, how long did you have, what kind of notice did you have before mounting this operation and how prepared were you for a real fight to the finish?
IVERSON: Well, when we originally started, we had been on standby for, I don't know, I'd have to say maybe about two or three hours. And we rolled out for link up with special operation forces. At that point in time, it just happened one right after another, it seemed like it was going in an instant. I couldn't really put a timetable on it, though.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) And Specialist Iverson, we heard that some of you did light cigars afterwards. Was there a moment of celebration?
IVERSON: I'd have to say that there was a momentary celebration after it was done, once we had officially been told what happened. I couldn't honestly say about the whole cigars, but we did celebrate a little bit.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) Well, Specialist Brescher, I just wonder, have had you a chance to talk to your mom and your wife about your role in this?
BRESCHER: I actually haven't yet. I was able to send a small e-mail to them, but I haven't, haven't been able to talk to them in person or on the phone yet and let them know what actually went on.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) Well, we have a little, we have a little surprise for you right now. And I want to say we tried to get both of your families up, but we managed to get through to Carol Brescher, your mom. And to Brianne, your wife. And they are joining us by phone this morning. Mrs. Brescher, Carol Brescher, can you hear me?
CAROL BRESCHER: Yes, I can.
SAWYER: Do you want to say something to your son this morning?
CAROL BRESCHER: Ryan, I'm so proud of you. I'm proud and I'm, I'm glad you're safe. And, I'm, I'm glad the Iraqi people can be free now.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) And Brianne, do you have something to add?
BRIANNE BRESCHER: I love you. I love you and I'm, and I'm so happy that you are safe, too, honey.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) And Specialist Brescher, it is your turn to talk back.
BRESCHER: I love you, baby. I did it for you guys. I'm over here, I fight the fight everyday. And it's paid off. We, we did what we came here to do. And we continue to do it everyday. And, baby, it's for you. It's, it's for the family. I love you guys. I'm proud to do what I do. And I'm glad I was here. I'm glad I was, was able to take part in this event. And I love you guys so much. I am so proud that I could do this for the country.
SAWYER: (Off Camera) Well, we're going to leave both of you on the phone, all three of you the phone and sign off. And I want you to know, Specialist Iverson, we're still dialing, and if we can get through, you bet you are going to get a chance to talk to your family this morning, too. And we just want to say, thank you from all of us back home.
CAROL BRESCHER: Thank you, Diane.
My buddy Scott Ott has re-posted his "Support the Troops" post from earlier this year, just in time for Christmas and a Saddam bust. If you haven't done so please consider joining the 1300+ commenters (most in the blogosphere?) on this amazing post.
My GI buds: Go read what the real America thinks of you.
Warning to all: rampant feelings of patriotism may result.
7 May 2003:
This time we are standing against America, a tryant power that rules the world. You Iraqi people will shame the Americans as the Palestinians shame the Zionists. The Zionists are baffled how to fight the Palestiniain people and you the Iraqi people, men and women, stand together against the invasion and show your stance as much as you can by writing on walls, or making positive demonstrations or not selling them anything or buying anything from them, or by shooting them with your rifles and trying to destroy their cannons and tanks.
4 Jul 2003
Brothers and sons, brave women and men, I bring you the good news that cells and brigades of jihad, sacrifice, and their organisations have indeed been formed on a large scale, comprising men and women mujahideen.
They have started their honourable actions in fighting the enemy and the aggression. You must be hearing about them, although what you are hearing about them, especially the losses they are inflicting among the (?infidel) invaders is just a small part of the actual losses.
1 Sep 2003
This time will be their end through the will, heroic resistance, and great jihad of the Iraqis and their faithful brothers from the sons of our nation.
Glorious heroes: Strengthen your faithful and brave blows against the foreign aggressors, from wherever they come and whatever their nationalities.
16 Nov 2003
In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what God has decreed for us: He is our protector", and in God let the believers put their trust.
Say: "Can you expect for us (any fate) other than one of two glorious things - Martyrdom or victory? But we can expect for you either that God will send His punishment from Himself, or by our hands. So wait, expectant, we too will wait with you. [Koranic verses]
O great people, God willing; O magnanimous mujahideen, lovers of martyrdom, and God's loved ones; O magnanimous men of our Armed Forces wherever you hold on tightly to the weapons of the valiant resistance; O magnanimous men and glorious women in the field of resistance and raising the roaring voice of right against the criminals and weakness. I am addressing you all regardless of all your job titles and ranks, and wherever the slogan in the name of God, Iraq, and the nation under the banner of God is great and come to join the jihad is shouted.
May God's peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you. May you enjoy many happy returns of the day. May God bless your Ramadan and the Id that follows it. May your fasting be accepted, God willing.
Our martyrs are in paradise while the dead of the louts and our other enemies are in hell. O God, make this month of Ramadan the prelude to and foundation of victory as it was during the great Badr [battle], [which marked] the era of the vanguards of Arabs and Muslims who were honoured by faith in you.
Dec 14 2003:
"My name is Saddam Hussein. I am the president of Iraq and I want to negotiate."
...there they found Saddam... He was armed with a pistol, but he didn't use it.
<...>
Whether Saddam ever contemplated defending himself was not known, but two of his aides, carrying Kalashnikov rifles, tried to run away. They were captured, too.
ANd here's a headline for those who can't grasp the obvious: "Arrest marks end of disastrous year for Saddam"
?My name is Saddam Hussein,? the fallen Iraqi leader told U.S. troops in English as they pulled him out of a dank hole Saturday night where he hid in the village of Adwar, north of Baghdad. ?I am the president of Iraq and I want to negotiate.?A U.S. Special Forces soldier replied: ?Regards from President Bush.?
More coverage from Stars and Stripes here, including the updated "most wanted" card deck.
Does Senator Clinton "get it" with respect to the troops? Let's see if Tim Russert got the answer he was looking for:
MEET THE PRESS, NBC TV, DECEMBER 7, 2003Interview with Senator Clinton
TIM RUSSERT: This is the way one Republican, Scott Reed (sp), responded. He said the comments you made were "un-American. Any member of the U.S. Senate should be supporting our troops 100 percent. It sounds like Senator Clinton has been stung by the fact that President Bush overshadowed her trip to Iraq and left her as an afterstory -- (laughter) -- so to break into the debate she had to take the low road."
SEN. CLINTON: Oh, that's so sad. You know, I think that that's reflective of the efforts by this administration to deny and divert attention from what everybody knows. I mean, it is like the old children's story -- the emperor has no clothes. I mean, you know, if you say there are serious questions on the ground raised by our troops, raised by Afghans, raised by Iraqis, raised by our friends around the world, somehow that is not appropriate.
You know, I find that sad because to me we have a lot at stake -- not only the lives of American men and women, not only the lives of Afghans and Iraqis, but about the future leadership of this country. And I think that given the globalization of information and communication, we have to be very forthright in saying, you know, failure is not an option. We are going to stay the course. But we have got to figure out what the course is. And I feel very strongly that in the last several months this administration has had a lot of happy talk and a lot of rosy scenarios instead of dealing in a forthright way about the challenges that we face. I don't think that does anyone any good, particularly the men and women who are serving with such bravery abroad.
MR. RUSSERT: But if someone suggests you're undercutting morale by criticizing the commander in chief to these soldiers in Iraq, it doesn't trouble you?
SEN. CLINTON: Well, I don't think that's what I did.
So what is "Centrist warhawk" Clinton's plan for Iraq?
FACE THE NATION MR. ROBERTS: You've talked about the need to internationalize the operation there. What do you mean when you say internationalize? How can it be more internationalized than it is already? You already have troops from a number of different countries there. You have a number of different countries participating in the rebuilding.SEN. CLINTON: Well what I have in mind is something more in the order of both what we did in Bosnia and Kosovo in the Clinton Administration.
MEET THE PRESS
Now, we did a couple of things right in Bosnia and Kosovo. We had the friends of Bosnia and Kosovo, we had regional powers. We had many more troops in Bosnia and Kosovo than we have in Afghanistan, and we had more multilateral commitments than we have in Iraq. So why don't we set up some kind of international bridge. The U.N. can be playing a role, NATO can be playing a role. We can create some new entity, the Iraq reconstruction stability authority. We can do something that then gives, frankly, cover to other countries to come in and support us.THIS WEEK ON ABC
But I still believe that we would be doing ourselves a great favor in the long run by trying to internationalize this and getting more troops on the ground from other countries who could be involved in this effort with us.
Andrew Sullivan writes in the Sunday Times of London (or, if you prefer, The Sunday London Times):
British anti-war liberals, lefties, and conservatives have just won a new enemy. This gung-ho member of the neocon cabal, this imperialistic threat to world peace, this destroyer of multilateral alliances actually believes that president Bush is too soft for the Iraq war. The president is too swift to turn over sovereignty to Iraqis, according to this critique. He needs to pour in more troops, display more resolve, demand more from allies, and take more time to get the job done right. Who is this foe of the anti-war left? Drum roll, please. It's Hillary Clinton.
Which I must presume is an apt view, as I am no expert on British politics, but an incorrect one insofar as I don't think for a minute that Sen. Clinton wants a "get tougher" policy on Iraq. Her stance is rhetoric; she may as well shout that the president should stand on his head in the capitol rotunda and sing The Star Spangled Banner as call for a greater "international presence" (code: France Germany Russia) in Iraq. It ain't gonna happen. And the Senator knows it.
And Mr. Sullivan is savvy enough to know politicking when he sees it, as he so aptly proves:
It was a nifty rhetorical strategy - far shrewder than anything most of the Democratic candidates have been saying. And as the blogger Mickey Kaus observed, she can't really lose. If Bush's strategy succeeds, she can say that she favored the war and its objective of a stable democracy in Iraq. If Bush's plan fails, she can claim that she supported different tactics. Certainly she cannot be accused of selling out American troops, being weak on national security or wishy-washy in the war on terror. Maybe she's sincere. Maybe she's not. Either way, she wins....But it strikes me as far too cynical to believe that the Bush administration is attempting to pull a quick exit strategy for purely political reasons. Between next June and November, there is a long period in which the consequences of premature Iraqi sovereignty will be fully visible. Bush will be judged electorally whatever his policy. And if he really wanted to use Iraq purely for electoral purposes, why announce a deadline now - rather than unveil a surprise later, when it would have more impact on the electoral cycle? Besides, with a booming economy, and major legislative gains on hand, Bush's re-election prospects have never looked better. He doesn't need the boost his critics are accusing him of engineering.
But all of that plays into Hillary's hands as well. Almost certainly, she has no plans to run for president next year. But the more the Democratic candidates degenerate into anti-war shrillness and the further they drift away from a decent chance at beating Bush, the better situated she is to take control of the party machinery after a Bush re-election; and the easier it will be for her to run from the center in 2008. Hillary's enormous gift is that the left of the party adores her, almost regardless of what she says or does. She is so hated by the far right that the left adopts her as an ally almost reflexively. So she alone of most Democrats has the ability to campaign from the center, to pose with troops in photo-ops, to out-flank Bush on the right in the war on terror, without endangering her base.
If I may be so bold, I suggest a slightly different spin: Sen. Clinton chooses to avoid a line in American politics that many of her Party cohorts have pranced far across (though some perhaps long before they joined the Party); that point where loyal opposition approaches treason. The Democratic party's Far Left, in what many view as descent into lunacy, have in many cases abandoned all but the thinnest veneer of patriotism. The current crop of contenders for the highest office in our land all define themselves by degree of opposition to the president, which is what 'opposition' candidates must by definition do.
Sadly, perhaps fueled by early success of Howard Dean, they define that opposition by their stances on the war in Iraq. They fall over one another in the struggle to establish supremacy of their level of anti-war rhetoric. And their personal comfort zone with regards to how far they will veer from center on this issue seems to change with the moment, as they leapfrog each other into political oblivion. (Note that those candidates - Lieberman, Gephardt - who choose not to play are already considered "not electable")
So yes, an outstanding opportunity indeed for Ms Clinton. She can stand bemused on the sidelines and watch them race themselves to the edge of the proverbial cliff. But will the antics of this small and tragic group of cliff divers define the landscape of American politics? Ms Clinton is hardly "centrist", unless one accepts that Dennis Kucinich defines the Left and George Bush the Right. And that is how so many would shape the current political stage, but they'd be wrong. For Bush, in response to that far left exodus in the Democratic Party, has also taken steps to the center.
Andrew Sullivan again:
It's the reverse of Bush, who has such emotional support from the right that he can do nothing to stop abortion, spend money like Lyndon Johnson, enact the biggest new welfare state entitlement in a generation, and still be enormously popular with the party base.
The unspoken implication is that there is a "vast right wing" somewhere beyond the president, and indeed there is. The mistake is to marginalize that wing. Folks "right of Bush" are likely a more potent political force then "folks left of Kucinich". Ignore them at your peril, those of you who are convinced you have the shape of the American political landscape figured out.
THIS WEEK ON ABC (emphasis added): MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's talk about President Bush. You're in Houston this week and I want to show our viewers something that the "Houston Chronicle" reported you said: "President Bush has not only been radical and extreme in terms of Democratic presidents, but in terms of Republican presidents, including his own father, his administration is making America less free, fair, strong, smart, than it deserves to be in a dangerous world." Radical, extreme, less free, fair, strong and smart. Those are very tough words. Is that really what you said?SEN. CLINTON: It certainly is what I said. And it is what I mean. I think we are dealing with an administration that has thrown over the consensus-building and the bipartisan agreement that basically built the 20th-century America that I'm very proud of and that I'm a product of. And yes, you know, there may have been people more to the right or more to the left, but if you look at the efforts that were made starting in the 1930s to save capitalism from itself to put us on the right track, to have the kind of middle class that would grow and provide ladders of opportunity for anybody willing to work hard, if you look at how we built up alliances, the painstaking, frustrating work of working with other nations around the world, I don't think that this president had a mandate to do that coming out of the 2000 election.
Because Hillary Clinton is not the center, and never has been. The center is still firmly occupied by a large group of fine Americans, who will tire of being branded "right wing extremists" in short order. Who will tire of Hillary and others of her sort claiming to belong to their group while actually occupying ground far to their left, and who recognize a significant portion of the Democratic party moving far beyond the pale.
New Weblog Showcase vote from me this week:
Hippercritical with Israel's Sammy Davis Jr?
Okay, there I was tweaking my blogrolls when suddenly the good guys capture Saddam and change the world and my plans for the day...
For what it's worth, in my ongoing efforts to hype newer (new to me, that is) blogs (share a bit of my recent "success" if you will, I've split my "Other fine Patriots" blogroll into a "Boot Camp" section for new additions and the "Veterans" section for my old friends.
So if you're looking for something new, try a "Boot Camp" Blog.
Hello good sirs and madams.
I am Ooglay Hussein and am the sole surviving son of Saddam Hussein, until recently the rightful and benevolent ruler of Iraq. I am writing to you because you are, I am told, a trustworthy person who can help with this most urgent matter discretely and quickly to our mutual satisfaction.
I am recently coming in to possession of 25 million American dollars...
The current #1 hero of the American Left is in custody. (Awaiting DNA results.)
Suppose if he says he had no WMD the Lefties will believe it?
And get ready, for the next time a US Soldier dies over there a media storm of "we've lost the war" coverage will exceed all previous attempts. It will "prove" that all Iraqis hate us, not just Saddam.
The celebration in Mudville begins soon.
1156 UTC Update: Intrepid CNN reporter Jane Araf just said that since the average Iraqi doesn't have electricity or water the capture of Saddam won't mean that much to them.
1229 UTC Update from Reuters via MSNBC: (This posted during the press conference officially announcing the capture):
LONDON - The capture of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in his hometown of Tikrit is a major coup for the U.S., but will not necessarily bring an end to the unrest in Iraq, analysts say.
1305 UTC update: I'll be first to admit when I'm in the wrong. Oliver Willis is the first left-leaning blogger to chime in, and can hardly contain his enthusiasm:
"400 soldiers for one man. Nice exchange, pal. And yes, please do find Osama."
And DU is practically exploding with cheer today: "an illegal war...an illegal occupation. Bush should be tried before Saddam."
1530 UTC:
Atrios: "Saddam was a bad guy, but it isn't clear he's any worse of a guy than some of the folks who are a part of our "Coalition of the Willing," so this pretense of moral clarity, etc... is ridiculous... Saddam wasn't a threat to us."
NY Times in the sixth sentence in the story on the capture: "Some senior Bush administration officials have suspected that Mr. Hussein was still alive and inspiring, if not leading, the guerrilla-style insurgency that has left more than 190 American soldiers dead since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations on May. 1."
18:10 UTC:
Glenn reports a palpable sense of disappointment from the media. He includes this e-mail from a Major Sean Bannion in Baghdad:
Being no friend of the media I can confirm what some of your readers have already told you when they say "you can hear the dejection in their voices" from the media.In the case of the CPA press conference you could see the disappointment on their faces and in their mien even if they asked a reasonable question. They were at least polite enough not to openly pooh-pooh Ambassador Bremer, LTG Sanchez and Dr. Pachachi.
But you can REALLY get a sense of the media's tone when you read Reuters' cutline from the photo of a captured Saddam:
"A photo of Saddam Hussein after his capture is shown during a press conference in Baghdad, December 14, 2003. U.S. troops captured Saddam Hussein near his home town of Tikrit announced U.S. administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer on Sunday, in a major coup for Washington's beleaguered occupation force in Iraq. Photo by Reuters"
I'm actually HERE and I don't consider ANY of us "beleaguered.
There's lots more on Instapundit (of course).
And here's the text of the press conference from Baghdad, including interpretation of the Iraqi portions.
The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate them.I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.
We've come to this moment through patience and resolve and focused action. And that is our strategy moving forward. The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell, and victory by victory. Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of liberty. And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won.
May God bless the people of Iraq, and may God bless America. Thank you.
Another Blog you might not have visited: Random Jottings. John Weidner's Blog is one of the best looking sites I've seen. As if that weren't enough he's also filled it with well-written posts, including an amazing series on World War I (yes, one). Visit once just to see the Blog; read a few posts and you'll want to bookmark or blogroll him too.
Gotta love the NY Times:
Washington -- A former Iraqi intelligence officer who was said to have met with the suspected leader of the Sept. 11 attacks has told U.S. interrogators the meeting never happened, according to U.S. officials familiar with classified intelligence reports on the matter.Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani, the former intelligence officer, was taken into custody by U.S. forces in July. Under questioning, he has said that he did not meet with Mohamed Atta in Prague, Czech Republic, according to the officials, who have reviewed classified debriefing reports based on the interrogations.
U.S. officials caution that Ani may have been lying to his interrogators, but the only other person reported to have attended the meeting was Atta, who died in the crash of his hijacked plane into the World Trade Center.
Anyone else notice the interesting description of how Atta met his maker? One would think the folks at a New York paper would use slightly stronger wording.
And I sure hope the following story doesn't ruin their euphoria, because although there may or may not have been a meeting in Prague the Telegraph has obtained new evidence of a meeting in Baghdad:
Iraq's coalition government claims that it has uncovered documentary proof that Mohammed Atta, the al-Qaeda mastermind of the September 11 attacks against the US, was trained in Baghdad by Abu Nidal, the notorious Palestinian terrorist.Details of Atta's visit to the Iraqi capital in the summer of 2001, just weeks before he launched the most devastating terrorist attack in US history, are contained in a top secret memo written to Saddam Hussein, the then Iraqi president, by Tahir Jalil Habbush al-Tikriti, the former head of the Iraqi Intelligence Service.
The handwritten memo, a copy of which has been obtained exclusively by the Telegraph, is dated July 1, 2001 and provides a short resume of a three-day "work programme" Atta had undertaken at Abu Nidal's base in Baghdad.
In the memo, Habbush reports that Atta "displayed extraordinary effort" and demonstrated his ability to lead the team that would be "responsible for attacking the targets that we have agreed to destroy".
Of course, we may never know, seeing as how Mo died in that tragic plane crash.
And if you think that's too good to be true then you won't care about this either:
The second part of the memo, which is headed "Niger Shipment", contains a report about an unspecified shipment - believed to be uranium - that it says has been transported to Iraq via Libya and Syria.
From the Kentucky Post:
The man being hailed as a hero for stopping a suicide bomber in Iraq before dawn Tuesday called home to Northern Kentucky Wednesday to assure his mother he was OK -- again. James Lawrence Ross III, better known as "JR," told his mother, Sandy Gregg of Taylor Mill, that he was just doing his job when he fired more than 100 rounds from a guard tower, detonating a car filled with explosives that was headed toward the 101st Airborne Division's base in Talafar, about 235 miles northwest of Baghdad.Army officials are saying his actions saved hundreds of lives.
<...>
When he called his mother Wednesday, he was more worried about fellow soldiers and his mother than he was for himself, Gregg said.
<...>
Ross had just started his guard duty in the watch tower near the base entrance Tuesday morning.
"The fellow before him said everything was quiet. He said, 'Make sure you dress warm; it's a really cold night.'" Ross told his mother.
"He said he was on duty about a half-hour when a car came down the road," Gregg said. "That's not really unusual because people make wrong turns and don't realize they can't get through. Most cars will make a U-turn and turn around.
"But this car kept coming down the road. He said he shot 100 rounds in less than 30 seconds."
News reports said Ross kept shooting until the car blew up, leaving a large crater near the base entrance and blowing out windows for blocks.
Nyuck Nyuck - Here's an observation from Scott Ott. (And a link to Lt Col West's defense fund can be found in the comments)
Andrew Sullivan encounters hatred on a military related on-line bulletin board.
I'm inclined to agree with this missive from a former Special Forces major:
"...what you saw on socnet is by no means a representation of the Special Operations community. It is, nevertheless, an embarrassment.By and large, the individuals who post to boards like that are the most juvenile examples of our breed, if they are even in the community. Most real special operators are far too busy at the moment to waste time posting hateful nonsense on a bulletin board for all to see.
<...>
The overwhelming majority of my comrades in Special Operations were, and are, far more tolerant than most people you are likely to meet in middle America. And they are not so uncertain about their sexuality that they need to attack others for theirs. Not exactly the sort of clown who posts homophobic messages to a site like that."
Amen.
And you can replace "Special Operations" with "military" and it's still a valid point. For those few folks out there who still believe all military folks are mindless automatons who all think alike about all issues, run one lap around the MilBlogs ring and report back here.
The community in and around any US military installation is the best example of a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-generational, multi-belief community you will ever see anywhere. An example: I usually can't tell with any degree of certainty the race/ ethnicity of any of my kids' friends, should I ever even ponder such an issue, as very few have both parents from the same continent! I've worked for (and currently have working for me) representatives of many races and have never noted any disparity of performance or ability (which is my sole basis of prejudice against anyone) among them.
Given that environment one would be correct to anticipate a wide variety of political, religious, and social views. That exists! I've seen lively debate on such issues in offices and off duty among peers (between different ranks would be wrong) - usually respectfully and followed by lunch or drinks after work. The US military, more then any other example anywhere in the world, is the definitive example of folks from different backgrounds working together successfully to common goals. (In that regards I suppose "Star Trek" actually depicts an existing aspect of military lifestyle; perhaps explaining the shows popularity with many of the troops.)
MilBlogs was created with that in mind, to show the diversity and humanity of the folks who make up the greatest military in the history of the world.
And I, for one, am proud to have Andrew Sullivan on our side.
An on-line petition demanding that the Democrat Party formally apologize for Dennis Kucinich has been created. Okay, actually it's the ad exploiting fallen heroes that the petition is aimed at. But the site also includes e-mail information for Kucinich and the vile creator of the spot. Sent yours yet? (Hat tip: Darren Kaplan)
Update: Team Kucinich is apparently still making campaign videos, probably with taxpayer money. Sick bastard (who loves ya, brother five?) Blackfive has the latest.
"Next up on the BBC, Saudi Arabia's Bin Laden Construction Group complains about being excluded from contracts to rebuild the Pentagon and the World Trade Center."
From Darren Kaplan.
Another fine Blog on my list!
More examples of Darren's wit and insight here and here.
(And oh-by-the-way I first found a link to the petition demanding that the Democrat Party formally apologize for the Kucinich ad on Darren's page too.)
Smash (Via Medienkritik) links to a story about German "Peace groups" raising money this holiday season:
In the spirit of peace, a number of groups have started a fund-raising campaign entitled “10 Euros for the Iraqi Resistance”. The money will be provided to the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance (IPA) a group dedicated to carrying out attacks against US soldiers in Iraq in collaboration with Saddam loyalists. The common goal is to "liberate” the Iraqi people from the evil imperialist American occupiers. On their website these groups gush with enthusiasm about turning Iraq into another Vietnam for the USA.
I live in Germany - and the above story makes this story (via LGF), from which I might otherwise feel a slight twinge of pain, a little more satisfying.
But if you think the Germans are bad, how about Denny Kucinich? You think Little Denny Kucinich has gone off the deep end, as he celebrates the deaths of Americans in Iraq via cartoon?
LGF and RWN both link to this bit of literary psychosis, "penned" by an "American":
While Iraqis have every right to shoot and kill occupation soldiers, that isn't necessary the most effective way to influence George Bush. Quite a few of the people who fund Bush's election campaign are involved in the latest corporate gold rush ("reconstruction") in Iraq. Attacking their interests might be a quicker way to get the president into listening mode. The lives of American soldiers are dear, but four more years in the White House are priceless.
Okay readers, you are now visiting the weblog of an American GI stationed in Germany. Much as you rely on Blogs for ground truth in overseas locations I rely on Blogs for ground truth about America. Give me your thoughts on this. Where does America stand?
Talk to me.
Frank is out ahead of everyone else yet again. While most folks are covering Kerry and Kucinich, Frank is all over the real future of the Democratic party.
Shopping this weekend?
Find this book, buy this book.
Buy some for your friends.
A great story.
If you don't know of Rick, meet him here.
More to come...
A story my mama read me as a young child:
One day as the Little Red Hen was scratching in a field, she found a grain of wheat."This wheat should be planted," she said. "Who will plant this grain of wheat?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog."Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.
Soon the wheat grew to be tall and yellow.
"The wheat is ripe," said the Little Red Hen. "Who will cut the wheat?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog."Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.
When the wheat was cut, the Little Red Hen said, "Who will thresh the wheat?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog."Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.
When the wheat was threshed, the Little Red Hen said, "Who will take this wheat to the mill?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog."Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.
She took the wheat to the mill and had it ground into flour. Then she said, "Who will make this flour into bread?"
"Not I," said the Duck.
"Not I," said the Cat.
"Not I," said the Dog."Then I will," said the Little Red Hen. And she did.
She made and baked the bread. Then she said, "Who will eat this bread?"
"Oh! I will," said the Duck.
"And I will," said the Cat.
"And I will," said the Dog."No, No!" said the Little Red Hen. "I will do that." And she did.
Simple, huh? And a good lesson to learn. Aren't the great and fundamental lessons in life always simple?
To save you time and trouble, heres the end of the new version:
"Ding ding" the timer on the table sounded. The Little Red Hen knew it was time to take out the bread. And oh good friends, can't you just smell it? "I wonder," she said aloud, "who will help me eat this fine bread?" Not one second went by before Squek, Bark, and Meow all said together, "I will!" The Little Red Hen began to laugh out loud. "I thought so!"She opened the drawer with the cutting knives and selected teh right one. Then she sliced offa single slice of bread. By now everyone's mouth was watering thinking "this will be sooooo good!" But then the Little Red Hen cut the singlr slice of bread into three smaller pieces. She put each piece on a napkin and handed one to Squeek, one to Bark, and one to Meow. They were each very troubled and she could see that on their faces.
"I am happy to share a bite of bread with you as your friend!" She said firmly but nicely. "Maybe the next time I need help you will volunteer!" Quick as a wink, Meow, Bark, and Squeek all sat straight up and said "I will!"
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Thursday defended his decision to exclude countries that did not support the U.S.-led effort to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from bidding on some $18.6 billion in reconstruction contracts.<...>
"Our people risked their lives. Coalition, friendly coalition folks risked their lives and therefore, the contracting is going to reflect that, and that's what the U.S. taxpayers expect."
The policy excludes France, Germany, Russia and Canada from bidding on construction projects.
So if you wonder why the president has to "defend" his position, you can perhaps start by blaming fables that have been re-written to the point of pointlessness.
But that re-write is nothing compared to this version.
And it came time to bake the bread. "Who will help me bake the bread?" asked the little red hen."That would be overtime for me," mood the cow.
"I'd lose my welfare benefits," whistled the goose.
"Dropping out I never learned how," quacked the duck.
"If I'm to be the only helper, that's discrimination," grunted the pig.
"Then I will,"said the little red hen, and she did. She baked five bread loaves and held them up for her neighbors to see.
Her neighbors saw their beauty, and smelled their freshness and they all wanted some. In fact, they demanded their rightful share. But the little red hen said, "No, I and my chicks can eat the five loaves ourselves."
"Excess profits!," squealed the pig.
"Profiteering leech!," honked the goose.
"Equal rights!," demanded the cow.
And the duck quacked in too!
And the animals painted "unfair" picket signs and marched round and round the little red hen, shouting their slogans, and their obcenities.
When the government agent came (a new legislative lgal appointee), he said to the little red hen, "You must not be greedy."
"But I earned the bread," said the little red hen.
"Exactly," said the agent. "That is the wonderful free enterprise system. Anyone in the barnyard can earn as much as he wants, but under our liberal government regulations, the productive workers must contribute their product to the idle."
Well, the barnyard calmed down, and the animals lived happily ever after, including the little red hen, who smiled and clucked, "I am grateful, I am grateful."
But her neighbors wondered why she never again baked any more bread.
Hillary wants desperately to recreate those glory days when she could rant about a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and people would care. This past Sunday she ran the rare network trifecta (with emphasis added):
FACE THE NATION CBS TV, DECEMBER 7, 2003
JOHN ROBERTS: So just back to my original question. You have suggested that there's a political imperative here to try to get the troops out. One of the places you made that claim was while you were on the ground in Iraq and people accused you of playing politics - taking that moment to criticize the president.MEET THE PRESS NBC TV, DECEMBER 7, 2003SEN. CLINTON: Well actually that
MR. ROBERTS: In hindsight would you have criticized the president while you were on the ground in Iraq?
SEN. CLINTON: Well let me correct the record that it didn't happen. I know that's the latest flaming charge by the right wing but that's not what happened. What happened is that when I was in Afghanistan and Iraq speaking with a lot of our soldiers who I think are doing an extraordinary job under dangerous and difficult circumstances. They asked me on one particular occasion well you know what will people think of us and we're doing back home? Now I'm not going to lie to an American soldier particularly a soldier from the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, New York. And what I said is I think you have universal support among the American people. They cannot be prouder of you and there are questions being raised about the administration's policies. Now they know that. They get the Internet. They get the media. They're well aware of that.
TIM RUSSERT: There has been some reaction to comments you made on the ground in Iraq, and let me go through that. This is the dispatch from the Buffalo News: "'The morale of the troops," Senator Hillary Clinton said, "is very high,'" but she said the military personnel with whom she spoke in meetings and wanted to know, quote, 'how the people at home feel about what we are doing.' 'Americans are wholeheartedly proud of what you are doing,' Clinton said she replied, 'but there are many questions at home about the Bush administration's policies.'" Was it appropriate for you to criticize the president while in Iraq?Far from negative publicity, the vast right-wing majority virtually ignored Ms Clinton. Which is even worse for her, and why she's running herself ragged hitting all three networks to defend herself against the few pundits who bothered to briefly note the obvious un-patriotic, un-American, but un-surprising aspects of her overseas histrionics. There is an issue here; and although Ms Clinton may be truly unable to comprehend it, Mickey Kaus nails it down:SEN. CLINTON: You know, I find this so interesting that this has now become an issue, and largely fueled by a lot of the talk shows and the other sort of right-wing apparatus. You know, when a soldier asks me a very direct question, you know, "How do people feel about us and what we're doing here, senator?" -- especially a soldier from the 10th Mountain Division, which as you know is based in Fort Drum, New York, I wasn't going to lie to that young man. And what I said is what I believe. We are wholeheartedly supporting our troops, and that is exactly as it should be. The American people I think understand that they are performing superbly under difficult and dangerous circumstances. But you know these young men and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, they are on the Internet, they get the media. They know very well that there is a debate about our policies. That's part of being an American. And from my perspective it is fully appropriate in talking with our soldiers to have that kind of conversation with them.
The problem is she smarmily "wanted to have it both ways," pretending her trip was in part a morale-building visit to the troops ("I wanted to come to Iraq to let the troops know about the great job they're doing") while she "griped about" the mission the troops were on. Here's a home state paper account:What I've told troops confronted with "protest" is a bit more simple: "America is with you. As far as the protestors, don't sweat it. You're making history; they're making noise."Bet that fired them right up!?... [Links via Lucianne and Instapundit]The morale of the troops, she said, "is very high," but she said the military personnel with whom she spoke in meetings and during "two turkey dinners" wanted to know "how the people at home feel about what we are doing."
" "Americans are wholeheartedly proud of what you are doing,' " Clinton said she replied, " "but there are many questions at home about the (Bush) administration's policies.' "
Update: Howard Owens and Bill Herbert take issue with the above post, largely on the grounds that a) what Hillary said was accurate--there are "many questions" at home and b)?"military people aren't too fragile to be given straight talk" or to hear Hillary's criticisms of current U.S. policies. All true, but that's not the point. Even if military people are quite strong enough to hear antiwar criticism, surely at some point that criticism, however frankly expressed, can't be portrayed as morale building. If you went to Iraq and told the troops, say, that they were doing the "bidding of Halliburton" and "imposing alien Western values" in a way calculated to increase terrorism directed at Americans, that might be admirable "straight talk" but would be hard to honestly portray as letting "the troops know about the great job they're doing."
That's not the anti-Bush criticism Hillary made, of course. But what she did say struck me as neither as supportive nor as honest as it should have been. It would be one thing to tell the troops, "We're all proud of you, though there are many questions at home about whether we are withdrawing too fast or too slow, or becoming bogged down." It's another to say there are "many questions about the administration's policies." The first is the perspective of a citizen. The second is the perspective of a Democratic partisan. The first says that we're all in this together and we're all worried and we can disagree on how to do it and this is how I would improve things. The second says "this isn't America's policy, it's Bush's policy." It implies that whenever a policy comes in for criticism from voters, Hillary--who voted for the war, after all--will disavow any connection to it.
If you haven't found The Mulatto Advocate yet you're in for a treat. I found this great blog via trackback, blogrolled him and visit daily. Thoughtful, insightful, and provocative. (A well designed blog, too.) Enjoy!
More on Ms. Clinton's Sunday TV blitz (part one here):
FACE THE NATION CBS TV, DECEMBER 7, 2003Interview with Sen. Clinton
MR. ROBERTS: And with us now is New York Senator Hillary Clinton. Good to see you this morning. Thanks for coming in.
SEN. CLINTON: Thank you. Good to be here John.
MR. ROBERTS: So Andy Card paints a pretty rosy scenario of what's going on in Iraq. Do you agree with him?
SEN. CLINTON: I think rosy scenario is alive and well in the White House these days based on what Mr. Card had to say. There are some things that are going right. My trip to Afghanistan and Iraq illustrated clearly to me that our troops are doing a great job under very difficult circumstances and that we are making some progress on the ground. But we have such a long way to go. And I think that one of the missing elements in our strategy thus far has been the president and the administration leveling with the American people about what it is we're up against, how long it's going to take, how much it's going to cost.
MR. ROBERTS: This is a rare moment where you seem at least be partially in agreement with Newt Gingrich.
(Laughter.)
SEN. CLINTON: Yes, I find myself amazed by that. I'm sure he's even more so. He has apparently written quite a critical piece of the administration's policy in Iraq. And in –
MR. ROBERTS: Accusing them of going over a cliff in the post-war period.
SEN. CLINTON: That's right. And pointed out some of the deficiencies in the - on the ground operation in Iraq. No reasonable person looking at the facts can't see that there are some real problems that we have to deal with. I don't think happy talk is a substitute for a policy. And maybe they'll listen to Newt Gingrich. They certainly haven't listened to anybody else.
MR. ROBERTS: You've talked about the need to internationalize the operation there. What do you mean when you say internationalize? How can it be more internationalized than it is already? You already have troops from a number of different countries there. You have a number of different countries participating in the rebuilding.
SEN. CLINTON: Well what I have in mind is something more in the order of both what we did in Bosnia and Kosovo in the Clinton Administration.
Well, that's certainly a lot of emphasis on Mr Gingrich's statements. And what did Mr. Gingrich say? Did he call for "internationalizing" Iraq? Did he endorse the Kosovo model? What a surprise to find him on Meet the Press:
MEET THE PRESS, NBC TV, DECEMBER 7, 2003
Interview with Newt Gingrich
TIM RUSSERT: And we are back. Speaker Gingrich, welcome back.MR. GINGRICH: Good to be here.
MR. RUSSERT: You gave an interview to Newsweek magazine, which will be on the newsstands tomorrow, and you said, "The administration has gone off a cliff" in terms of Iraq. Explain that.
MR. GINGRICH: No, what I said was that after the brilliant military campaign of 23 days, that we went off a cliff after that in the sense that the small military worked and was right if you were going to rapidly convert Iraqis into policing their own country and if you were going to be the reinforcer of an Iraqi system, not the enforcer of an American system. And the mistake we made -- if you look at Afghanistan, it took us three weeks from the fall of Kandahar to recognize Karzai, and five weeks after that he was at the State of the Union sitting next to Mrs. Bush. And from that point on, it was clear that the Americans were helping the Afghans; they weren't trying to police Afghanistan, which is an impossible challenge. I think the cliff we have gone off that we need to get back on is to put the Iraqis at the center of this equation, not foreign governments, not the U.N., not more American troops. Put the Iraqis at the center of this equation and recognize that most Iraqis do not want to go back to a brutal, murdering, raping dictatorship. Most Iraqis want to have an organized way of governing themselves, but they want to be in charge of their own country.
MR. RUSSERT: But there are those who say if you try to do that today or in the next few months, you would have chaos, anarchy and a civil war, because the Iraqis are not capable of securing their own country at this point.
MR. GINGRICH: Look, I don't believe we should be arguing about American commitment in Iraq. The only exit strategy in Iraq is victory.
Sounds more in line with Mr. Cards comments then Ms Clintons. Not sure why his statements aren't labeled as "rosy".
The only amazing aspect of this situation is that somehow the Democrats and the media have somehow latched on to Newt Gingrich as the voice of reason in the Republican party. Stop and think about that one a while. In the "contract with America" days they couldn't discredit the man enough, and now he's their font of reason, wisdom, and knowledge.
So if Newt's on Hillary's team, then who's in charge of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy? Because Ms. Clinton thinks it's alive and well (and out to get her)...
The Mudville Gazette proudly presents, The London Daily Telegraph and Monty Python's Flying Circus staring in "New Quick Reaction Farce Force"
France unveiled its latest plans to dominate European defence yesterday in the muddy, war-worn fields of Picardy.
Crowded into dozens of camouflaged huts were soldiers from 10 countries, including Britain, training for a new, French-led rapid reaction force which will be offered for use by both Nato and the European Union.
France hopes the force will one day rival the British-run Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, which already conducts Nato operations on the ground.
A MAN appears on the battlements. ARTHUR addresses him.
ARTHUR: Hello.
MAN: 'Allo. Whoo is eet?
ARTHUR: I am King Arthur and these are the Knights of the Round Table. Whose castle is this?
MAN: This is the castle of of my master, Guy de Loimbard.
ARTHUR: Please go and tell your master that we have been charged by God with a sacred quest, and if he will give us food and shelter for this night he can join us in our quest for the Holy Grail.
MAN: Well, I'll ask him, but I don't think he'll be very keen. He's already got one, you see?
ARTHUR: What?
GALAHAD: He says they've already got one!
Its creation is a measure of President Jacques Chirac's desire to put France at the head of European defence and was described by France's defence minister yesterday as a "means commensurate to our ambitions".
ARTHUR: Are you sure he's got one?
MAN: Oh yes. It's very nice
CUT TO BATTLEMENTS. THE TAUNTER (MAN) turns to some others.
MAN: I told him we already got one.
They all giggle.
For the past two weeks, 3,000 troops from eight European countries, Morocco and Canada, have been taking part in Opera 3T, which involves repelling a simulated invasion of northern France.
Troops from the fictional neighbour Nordland - Belgium and Germany in reality - have rolled into Hercynia - France - in an attempt to encircle Paris.
The battle is taking place only on computer screens and has been designed to see how Europe's individual command structures might interact. It has cost the French military £2.1 million to organise.
ARTHUR: Well ... can we come up and have a look?
MAN: Of course not! You are English pigs.
ARTHUR: Well, what are you then?
MAN: I'm French. Why do think I have this outrageous accent, you silly king.
GALAHAD: What are you doing in England?
MAN: Mind your own business.
Sixty men from Britain's 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats, have swapped a tour in southern Iraq for a clammy row of trailers next to a Spanish contingent. Their commander, Brig Adrian Bradshaw, broke off from reading Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy to explain his group's virtual battle operations to the French defence minister, Michelle Alliot-Marie.
ARTHUR: If you will not show us the Grail we shall storm your castle.
Murmurs of assent.
MAN: You don't frighten us, English pig-dog! Go and boil your bottoms, son of a silly person. I blow my nose on you, so-called Arthur-king, you and your silly English K...kaniggets.
He puts hands to his ears and blows a raspberry.
Testing multi-national command posts is routine for Nato troops. But the presence of Mme Alliot-Marie yesterday indicated the importance France was giving the exercise.
Opera 3T comes at a time when the United States is nervous about Europe's intentions regarding defence. Mme Alliot-Marie did nothing to quell Washington's suspicions yesterday when she said a common European defence was as vital to Europe's future as a common currency.
Though she reaffirmed France's commitment to Nato, her main emphasis was on the importance of the Lille headquarters to the future of European defence.
She said a common defence force would "allow the European Union to ensure that its citizens, interests and principles are respected".
GALAHAD: What a strange person.
ARTHUR: Now look here, my good man!
MAN: I don't want to talk to you, no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. You mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.
Asked why the Americans were not participating, Mme Alliot-Marie tried a fudge, saying: "But I've just met American officers here!"
Lt Gen Jean-Claude Thomann, the Commander of the French Land Force stepped in: "They are just a couple of liaison officers. Unfortunately, the Americans were too busy around the world to be part of this exercise."
France is already involved in another Nato reaction force, Eurocorps, which includes Spain, Germany and Belgium. But it has become frustrated by Germany's conservatism and envious of Britain's freedom of movement with its rapid reaction corps.
GALAHAD: Is there someone else up there we could talk to?
MAN: No. Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time.
The kiss of death?
Al Gore has issued his presidential endorsement. "I've seen a candidate who has what it takes to reach out to the independent, mainstream Americans who will make the difference . . . particularly in the South," Gore said. "He's going to send George Bush packing and bring the Democratic Party home."If you think the candidate Gore endorsed is unlikely to win a single Southern state, you're right. Gore made the above statement, unearthed by MSNBC.com, on June 16, 1988, when he endorsed Michael Dukakis.
--Shamelessly stolen from Best of the Web Today.
Time for a bit of Weblog recognition. I'll be trying to highlight a few folks this week; some "old" friends I'm overdue to say hello to and some newer. (mostly folks I've found recently via Trackback, since I've very little time for cruising otherwise.)
But to be honest I'm not sure how I found Matthew Stinson. I know I linked him a while back when he reported on a wounded MilBlogger, (update here and several more) and I find myself visiting him pretty frequently these days.
Matt's working towards a Master's in Political Science at Florida State; I've had a soft spot in my heart for the Seminoles ever since I lived in the area and did some collaborative work with some of the faculty (non-poli-sci).
Matt's already making a bit of a blogosphere splash. His blog is up for Best New Blog in the Wizbang awards, and that's well deserved recognition for this thoughtful young man.
John Roberts is apparently stunned that not all Republicans think exactly alike; that some are willing to express their own opinions on things. I'm not sure why freedom of thought is so hard for the media to grasp.
From Face The Nation, CBS TV, DECEMBER 7, 2003, Interview with Andrew Card
JOHN ROBERTS: And welcome to the broadcast. Bob Schieffer is off this morning. Joining us now from the White House is White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card. Mr. Card, good morning.MR. CARD: Good morning. Good to see you John.
MR. ROBERTS: Good to see you as well. So Newsweek magazine today carries an interview with Newt Gingrich who is now a member of the Defense Policy Board, who says that in the post-war period the administration has gone off a cliff in Iraq, that coalition provisional authorities CPA stands for Can't Produce Anything. Those are pretty harsh words coming from a member of your own party, a supporter of Don Rumsfeld.
MR. CARD: Well first of all I think things are going very well in a very tough situation in Iraq. The president has as his goal first of all to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein. And we've done that. He is no longer the threat to his own people or to the world that he was when he was in office. The second thing is he is working to bring democracy and hope to the Iraqi people and all around Iraq there are dramatic signs of improvement in life. Schools are open. Small businesses are working. Yes we have to do more work on the security front, but it's really limited to kind of the Tikrit, Mosul, Baghdad area and we're working hard to address that problem. But we're making significant progress. The life for the average Iraqi is much better today than it was under Saddam Hussein.
MR. ROBERTS: So how was it though that some members of your own party see it quite differently than that?
MR. CARD: Well, Newt Gingrich is not all knowing. And I'm sure he has opinions and he's always expressed them. But I can tell you from the perspective of the generals who are on the ground and Ambassador Bremer who is running the provisional authority over there things are going better than they could have been expected to go at this time and we're making great progress. More has to be done and we are committed to staying there until it's done right. We would like to see the Iraqi people have more opportunities for self-government, but we're going to stay there until the job is done.
In his hard-hitting crusading journalist style, Roberts then attacks the security measures in place in Iraq, comparing it to the oppression his Palestinian comrades' experience under the boot heel of the evil Jews:
MR. ROBERTS: You're being accused in some parts of Iraq for lack of a better word barbwire diplomacy, ringing entire villages in razor wire. Making people pass through checkpoints. Detaining family members of suspected Iraqi insurgents. Destroying buildings that the insurgency has been using. Some people in Iraq are saying this is very much like the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians. And I'm wondering is this the way to win hearts and minds in Iraq?MR. CARD: Security is very important and we are winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people by improving their life. Again the schools are opening. Small businesses are working and more and more Iraqis are part of the security solution in Iraq and they are part of the governing structure in Iraq. We're making progress, but we are going to work to secure their communities and we'll have to work hard to do that as they build their own security forces. And this is just one step, and it's a transitional step, but security is important in order to have these other habits of a healthy and hopeful life to take place.
MR. ROBERTS: Are you concerned though that trying to provide security in this fashion could engender the same type of anger that the Palestinians feel?
MR. CARD: I think that is a too far a place to go. I think first of all the Iraqi people understand that they are much better off today without Saddam Hussein, and they're finding the opportunity to govern themselves. We're making great progress so I do not view this as a road toward something that would look like the Palestinian- Israeli situation at all.
But I have a suspicion you'll see more from Al Jazeera and CBS on that comparison.
MR. ROBERTS: All right. The Chief Civil Administrator there, Paul Bremer, said recently that he expects attacks are going to increase as you make this transition toward severty (sic). That these hold outs - these dead enders will try to stop the process by stepping up attacks. Do you agree with that assessment?MR. CARD: Well the more and more that the old Baathist regime loses their authority the more they're going to fight back. But the will of the people is most important in Iraq. And the people want to see a road toward security and hope and opportunity, and that's what the coalition is working to help provide. But I think that we will find that the security situation is still a challenge, but the good news is the United States is up to that challenge.
MR. ROBERTS: If indeed attacks are going to escalate as Mr. Bremer suggests shouldn't the president be out there warning the American people that this could happen?
Time out: Are there any American's out there that need that warning? Do you really think, Mr Roberts, that some Americans are that stupid?
MR. CARD: Well the president has said all along that this is a difficult task, but it's one that can be met. And he is very supportive of the work that is done by our troops and you should be supportive too because they are carrying out the most important mission and that's to help rid the world of a horrible regime and create hope and opportunity for democracy.<...>
MR. ROBERTS: Andy Card White House Chief of Staff. We'll be back in just a moment with New York Senator Hillary Clinton. Stay with us.
But first, this quick summary from me.
Mr. Card's key points:
What we're doing, where we're headed:
The president has as his goal first of all to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein. And we've done that.
The second thing is he is working to bring democracy and hope to the Iraqi people and all around Iraq there are dramatic signs of improvement in life. Schools are open. Small businesses are working.
Security:
We have to do more work on the security front, but it's really limited to kind of the Tikrit, Mosul, Baghdad area and we're working hard to address that problem. But we're making significant progress.
Iraqis are part of the security solution in Iraq and they are part of the governing structure in Iraq. We're making progress, but we are going to work to secure their communities and we'll have to work hard to do that as they build their own security forces.
The more and more that the old Baathist regime loses their authority the more they're going to fight back.
I think that we will find that the security situation is still a challenge, but the good news is the United States is up to that challenge.
Our determination:
Things are going better than they could have been expected to go at this time and we're making great progress. More has to be done and we are committed to staying there until it's done right.
The president has said all along that this is a difficult task, but it's one that can be met. And he is very supportive of the work that is done by our troops and you should be supportive too because they are carrying out the most important mission and that's to help rid the world of a horrible regime and create hope and opportunity for democracy.
Okay, sounds realistic to me. A tough road, but we'll stay the course. Got it, now back to you, John:
MR. ROBERTS: And with us now is New York Senator Hillary Clinton. Good to see you this morning. Thanks for coming in.SEN. CLINTON: Thank you. Good to be here John.
MR. ROBERTS: So Andy Card paints a pretty rosy scenario of what's going on in Iraq. Do you agree with him?
SEN. CLINTON: I think rosy scenario is alive and well in the White House these days based on what Mr. Card had to say.
I'm not sure, but does this mean that anyone expressing hope for anything other then complete American failure in Iraq is "painting a rosy scenario?"
Holiday season, the economy is robust, the Medicare Bill has passed. A surprise Thanksgiving visit with the troops at the front reveals how they feel about their Commander-in-Chief. All in all, a great time for anyone wanting to replace the current president to lay low, shut up, enjoy some quality family time, and wait for a new year and perhaps some new issues to really come out swinging.
John F. Kerry had other ideas.
I know a little about little Dennis; the 5'7" (but I'll call him "little" in honor of his mind) former mayor of Cleveland left his town a fiscal quagmire, in default and floundering after a few years of his guidance. In his own defense, he claims to have refused to sell out to special interests that could have saved the city. The voters promptly sent him packing.
You can Google up something to support anything you'd like on that issue.
One thing that could be said for Kucinich is that he's stayed true to his principles through the years. Except for the abortion issue. He flip-flopped on that and is now "pro-choice". So except for the things he's flip-flopped on he's stayed his ground.
And he seems to want to be the "farthest left" of any of the Democratic candidates.
I was going go say something here about little Dennis using the military dead in his campaign; I was going to ask for clarification on his point about there being no media cameras allowed on base to sensationalize the return of America's fallen heroes.
I was going to speak to the needless hassle of babysitting media folks on secure military installations just so they can film returning war dead who are already known to be dead.
I was going to ask if little Dennis thinks his commercial would be in some way improved, or just more dramatic, by some of that footage he's been denied.
I was going to point out the invasion of privacy that media-circus coverage of families in mourning would be; but those families can invite that circus to the funerals if they choose.
I was going to speculate that this sick gang of pretenders to power, led by this clueless moonbat from Cleveland, would drop a night-vision web cam into a casket to record the decomposition of a corpse if they thought it might get them a vote.
Then I realized that more people will read this blog in 2004 then will vote for little Dennis Kucinich for President of the United States.
Later, dude.
More from Emperor Misha, his Blogfather John Cole , and Steve at Little Tiny Lies.
On the subject of choosing sides and massive demonstrations, be sure to see Mr Free Market's photos of recent mayhem in London's streets. Great comparison points.
His stats:
Population of UK 60,094,648No. of people that protested against the Bill
To ban Foxhunting 407,791No. of people that protested against the
Bush visit 30,000No. of people that went to Heathrow Airport at
4a.m. to welcome the England team home 8,000As the parade will pass under my office window, pictorial evidence will be posted. I am sure that the numbers will be interesting to compare with the above.
And indeed they are. Click here.
Surely you've all seen the coverage of the big protest marches?
From the Washington Times
BAGHDAD — Up to 1,000 Iraqis, including children orphaned by the war that ousted Saddam Hussein, marched through Baghdad yesterday to denounce guerrilla attacks and show support for U.S.-led occupation forces.
The demonstration took place even as top U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer warned that attacks against coalition forces will likely escalate over the next few months as the occupation authority prepares for a transfer of sovereignty to a new Iraqi government.Carrying banners blaming Saddam loyalists for terrorism, the demonstrators marched down one of Baghdad's busiest streets before gathering in Firdos Square, where a statue of Saddam was famously pulled down as U.S. troops drove into the heart of the capital in April.
"We organized this demonstration because the terrorists now kill a lot of people," said Abdul Aziz Al-Yassiri, coordinator of the Iraqi Democratic Trend, a recently formed social group.
"They kill the children, kill women, kill the people, kill the police. They want to stop our plan for a democratic system."
<...>
The Baghdad march was the second time in two weeks that Iraqi demonstrators gathered in significant numbers to back U.S. attempts to rebuild the country and denounce guerrilla activities. Another march is planned for Friday, a Muslim holy day.
Most of those who marched were Shi'ite Muslims, who make up about 60 percent of Iraq's population but were discriminated against under Saddam, a Sunni.
Several dozen youngsters holding flowers marched at the head of the demonstration while women accompanying them held up placards reading "Terrorism blocks the future for children" and "Children — innocent victims of terror."
Tiger has a collection of links to Pearl Harbor posts from all over.
Thanks Tiger.
Via Tim, husband of Capt Patti. Tim, like me, is tired of the fact that some stories in Iraq seem to be relative to "Since President Bush declared an end to major combat" while others are not. So lets put it all in that perspective.
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...nearly all of Iraq’s 400 courts are functioning.Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...on Monday, October 6 power generation hit 4,518 megawatts—exceeding the pre-war average.
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...all 22 universities and 43 technical institutes and colleges are open, as are nearly all primary and secondary schools.
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1, by October 1, Coalition forces had rehabbed over 1,500 schools--500 more than their target.
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...all 240 hospitals and more than 1200 clinics are open.
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...the Coalition has helped administer over 22 million vaccination doses to Iraq’s children.
Since President Bush declared an end to major combat on May 1...a Coalition program has cleared over 14,000 kilometers of Iraq's 27,000 kilometers of weed-choked canals. They now irrigate tens of thousands of farms. This project has created jobs for more than 100,000 Iraqi men and women.
Update: along similar lines, Bill Whittle notes that 13,000 people have not died since the president declared an end to major hostilities...
"Attention shoppers, we have an attempted clean up, aisle seven..."
ORANGE CITY, Fla. -- A woman reported "trampled" last Friday by Wal-Mart shoppers desperate for $29.87 DVD players has a long history of claiming injuries from Wal-Marts and other businesses where she worked or shopped.Patricia Vanlester, 41, was knocked unconscious and, her sister said, "trampled by a herd of elephants" by a stampede of shoppers reaching for DVD players that went on sale at 6 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, according to Orange City police and the sister, Linda Ellzey.
The story was picked up by the Associated Press and carried in newspapers and other media as far away as Australia and China, an example -- some commentators have opined -- of American excess during the holiday shopping season.
From The Shreveport Times:
A student expelled from Parkway High for a year for having Advil, an over-the-counter pain reliever, will not be allowed to return to the school.Kelly Herpin and daughter Amanda Stiles, a sophomore, appealed the one-year expulsion to a Bossier Parish School Board committee Thursday night, spending about 10 minutes with the board's administrative committee behind closed doors.
The committee and the full board voted unanimously to uphold an administrative decision that Stiles be expelled to the alternative school.
School boards hold such hearings in a closed session, but parents have the right under state law to request that such sessions be open. Herpin didn't make that request but did speak to reporters after the hearing. She left before the board voted on her request but learned of its decision by phone.
Gutless. The school board, I mean.
And sad. Why am I covering it?
Because Parkway is just outside the gates of Barksdale Air Force Base, and a good percentage of the kids in that school are military kids. I know because my kids attended that school for a couple of years.
Parkway is a fine school, with comparatively few and very minimal discipline problems; kids there refer to their elders as "sir" and "ma'am" and mean it. The pledge of allegiance is taken seriously in that area, and prayer is actually heard in school on occasion. I think there may be a "rest of the story" - which may be nobody's business - but does that matter? This is Idiotarianism at its worst.
The folks on the Bossier Parrish School board, with whom I had dealings on several more positive occasions, were never too impressive to me. They are likely just showing total support for a teacher and an administration. (At the cost of a lot of credibility.)
I really hope the good parents I know in that school district will stand up for what's right on this one.
More at Right Wing News, On the Third Hand, and The Daily Ablution (with email to the superintendent).
Maybe Rush Limbaugh will cover this story too.
This may be today's Idiotarian mantra:
WASHINGTON — U.S. President George Bush did not name Japan in his Pearl Harbor remembrance day statement Saturday, likely in consideration of Japan's help in U.S.-led efforts to rebuild Iraq.In the statement released on the eve of National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, Bush said, "America was attacked without warning and without provocation" on the morning of Dec 7, 1941, but he did not say who the attackers were.
Expect jokes about not knowing who the attackers were. On second thought, expect some to convince themselves to believe he doesn't know. They want to believe that.
Full text of the statement here.
I note that Idiotarians, had they been around for Roosevelt's speech, would have been apoplectic at his mention of God. But I'd also be inclined to believe the president would have risen from his wheelchair and caned a few of them. (I want to believe that.)
This sort of approach to news is also likely:
Berner says he pays close attention to reports from Iraq and when he hears news of yet another American soldier being killed in action, he can't help but reflect on his own past, and his attitude as a veteran that "war really doesn't change and it doesn't solve anything either."I knew people who died. Friends of mine. And you have to think: There but for the grace of God go I. I wound up having a family and grandchildren. But the guy who was in my unit that got his face blown off, he never had that chance. I hope they all get out of (Iraq) soon and in good shape."
Mintz was in the Air Corps at Pearl Harbor. He was later transferred to fight in the European Theatre during WWII and would eventually stay in the military long enough to fly in Vietnam.
"It's the same from one war to another," he said. "You've got young men doing the same job over and over. I feel bad for the guys over (in Iraq) now. My feeling is that we shouldn't be over there. But I'm 81 and I've seen the price we pay."
I don't know what question he was responding to, (reporters prefer to leave you with the idea that their subject was just saying what was on their mind) but "My feeling is that we shouldn't be over there" is a long way from being rabidly anti-war, which is, I'm afraid, the type of quote the reporter was angling for. And what a lot of folks will choose to hear.
...Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.
Click (Real Player required):
Approximately 6,500 of the 77,000 surviving Pearl Harbor veterans are still with us to tell their stories.
Retired Lt. Gen. Louis W. Truman was an aide to Gen. Walter Short, Army commander on Hawaii, when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Two months later, when the Roberts Commission issued its report holding Gen. Short and Adm. Kimmel responsible for Pearl Harbor not being prepared for the attack, Truman hand-delivered a copy to President Roosevelt.The next morning he went by the office of Sen. Truman, who, he remembers, "wanted to know what the hell everybody was doing over there [at Pearl Harbor the morning of the attack], all asleep and drunk?"
The senator said he thought Short and Kimmel were guilty of dereliction of duty and they ought to be court-martialed.
Louis Truman responded as only he could to an indignant senator who was attacking the credibility of his commanding officer.
"I don't think so, Cousin Harry," he said.
Historically speaking, peacetime commanders in the US military have rarely lasted beyond the opening salvos.
The Shreveport Times reports on a small group of survivors:
But the handful of survivors who gathered at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5951 just outside the north gate of Barksdale Air Force Base focused almost as much on current events as they did their brush with history. And they hoped that lessons they paid for with sweat and blood will not have to be relearned by the current generation or its children.In fact, that was why Bob Matheny almost missed the ceremony, staged by Fleet Reserve Association Chapter 98 to honor Pearl Harbor survivor Phil Serio for his 30th year in the organization. Matheny honored a prior obligation to talk with youngsters at Sci-Port Discovery Center in Shreveport, and he walked away from that hopeful.
"It was real good. They asked a lot of questions, and the right questions. You can tell when kids are interested in what you're saying - they stand real still."
But no mention is given as to what exactly was said about current events. If the good folks in Shreveport are typical (and I have reason to believe they are) of most vets of that era, then the Houston Chronicle's coverage of the reunion of survivors in Hawaii offers insight:
Saturday's memorial featured a flyover by World War II airplanes, music, speeches and a wreath presentation.Mainly it honored those who gave so much so long ago.
Luke Trahin, of Beaumont, who was at Kaneohe Air Station on that day, spoke for the veterans and for those who died.
"If we are willing to always stand up for the U.S., they will not have died in vain," he said.
And, at least in some places, that message is being passed on.
More information on Pearl Harbor here.
The full text of president Roosevelt's speech is in the extended portion of this post
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT'S PEARL HARBOR SPEECH
(December 8, 1941)
To the Congress of the United States:
Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleagues delivered to the Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. Very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.
Struggling 2004 Democratic wannabe John Kerry fires an X-rated attack at President Bush over Iraq and uses the f-word - highly unusual language for a presidential contender - in a stunning new interview with Rolling Stone magazine.Sen. Kerry (Mass.) used the undeleted expletive to express his frustration and anger over how the Iraq issue has hurt him because he voted for the war resolution while Democratic front-runner Howard Dean has soared by opposing it.
"I voted for what I thought was best for the country. Did I expect Howard Dean to go off to the left and say, 'I'm against everything'? Sure. Did I expect George Bush to f - - - it up as badly as he did? I don't think anybody did," Kerry told the youth-oriented magazine.
I wonder if he rode his motorcycle?
I also note the story refers to him as a "Democratic wannabe". I will assume they meant Democratic presidential wannabe, because the Democratic party is willing to register anything or anyone these days.
The article also points out that Kerry is a Vietnam veteran:
Kerry yesterday angrily cited his war record in Vietnam when asked by a New Hampshire student about charges that it's unpatriotic to attack the commander-in-chief, fuming: "I left some blood on a battlefield that President Bush never left anywhere."
What more could you ask of a president? Yeeeehaw! You go, wild man!
...I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under
Yeah Darlin' go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space...
(Hat tip: Glenn)
Update: The Interview
The sheer editorial genius of The NY Times:
TEL AVIV, Dec. 4 — Israeli officials have concluded that the Islamic movement Hamas has suspended its suicide bombing campaign in recent months, a senior Israeli military officer said Thursday, citing that as one reason Israel has not suffered any deadly bombings in the past two months.
So, based on the lack of bombings, we conclude the bombings have been suspended.
I conclude that The NY Times just has no idea how to report good news.
Israel's security forces have foiled 20 attempted suicide bombings by other Palestinian factions over the past two months, including an attack that was already in motion when two suspects were arrested Wednesday in the West Bank, said the Israeli official, who briefed journalists.
Now why wasn't that paragraph first, followed by the current first paragraph?
Just wondering...
These are starting to turn up in a lot of places.
You too can link our 40+ worldwide locations with one simple banner.
1985: Ronnie was president and all was right with the world. The newlywed Mrs and I had everything figured out: a few years of military service, then a career if we liked it or something else if not. A few years after that, once established in whatever, we'd start having kids.
With that plan in mind I departed for basic training.
Nine months later, almost to the day, our first was born.
Happy birthday, son!
(More here, here, and especially here).
Big media has never lived up to it's potential to "fight for the little guy". Sadly, political motivations colors everything they do. But every once in a while (usually when it fulfils some other agenda) you get a story like the following.
I must add, (and hopefully I don't sound too unappreciative) that I'd feel better about this if most stories on the news these days didn't seemed aimed (via support of our enemies or attacks on our side) at getting guys like Major Valentini killed.
I present this then as an example of the battles some folks are willing to fight in order to fight for their country.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS NBC TV, DECEMBER 3, 2003TOM BROKAW: By this time it's well-known that the need to activate National Guard and reserve units for duty in Afghanistan and Iraq is putting a lot of pressure on communities, businesses and families across the country. And the worst-case scenario may be one family and its business in Ohio. It turns out Uncle Sam wants you and everything you've got. Here's NBC’s Kerry Sanders.
KERRY SANDERS: Army Major Ted Valentini is in Iraq fighting a persistent war, but it's a battle back home in Ohio that may be his most difficult fight. A reservist called to active duty, Valentini left behind his small manufacturing company near Dayton. A tough economy and a missing owner was a recipe for failure. The company went out of business. His equipment auctioned off.
ARMY MAJOR TED VALENTINI: The Army's not one bit responsible for this. Being a reservist you know when you sign up that this is --getting deployed, getting activated is something that can happen to you, and you know, I was fully aware of that when I purchased the company.
SANDERS: Now the major is saddled with debt. More than $350,000 in loans from the Small Business Administration and IRS and local taxes. Here in Iraq, Major Valentini says he tries not to think about these financial problems. But here in Ohio, his family is overwhelmed by it all.
Wife Penny Valentini, a high school science teacher, says she knows nothing about running a business. The business had no professional accountant. So she became panicked by IRS letters demanding payments and a face-to-face meeting.
PENNY VALENTINI [Wife of Soldier]: Clearly Ted didn't make this meeting. I believe he was moving into Ramadi at that point from Baghdad. I'm just amazed.
SANDERS: One letter in April from the Small Business Administration suggested selling their house to make a loan payment.
PENNY VALENTINI: Here I am. I have three small children. Ted's gone. What happens if they expect me to sell my home? Where am I going to go? What am I going to do?
SANDERS: When we called the Small Business Administration they told us it was "an error" and that Valentini's case is now on hold and "under review." But IRS rules say in or out of business, Valentini still owes taxes.
Major Valentini says on that front, Iraq may turn out to be good training.
MAJOR VALENTINI: I don't think the IRS is going to be as tough as the Iraqis are right now.
SANDERS: He doesn't know when he's coming home. But when he does, the tax bill will be larger. Interest and penalties are still accruing.
Kerry Sanders, NBC News, Ramadi, Iraq.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS DECEMBER 4, 2003TOM BROKAW: We have a welcomed footnote to a story that we told you about earlier this week about an Army reservist, Major Ted Valentini, whose small manufacturing business failed during his deployment to Iraq.
The IRS and Small Business Administration were closing in on his family. At one point, the SBA suggested the family sell the house to pay their debts.
Well, tonight we’ve learned the SBA has begun the process of lifting the lean on the house and is working with Valentini’s local bank to forgive a $350,000 loan.
The IRS also apologized to the family and offered to work out a tax repayment plan when the major returns from Iraq.
Note that NBC doesn't take credit for the "reversal of fortune" - I would assume the situation was cleared up only when someone high up the food chain ordered a "cease and desist."
Un-be-lieve-a-bull. And I do mean bull.
If stuff like this doesn't drive the last few intelligent people out of the control of the Leftocracy and straight into the Bush camp (or at least closer to it) I don't know what will.
And speaking of which, memo to somebody in 2005: will the last person to leave the Democratic Party please turn out the lights?
Update: It's Rummy's turn! (Obviously an administration ploy to distract from planegate!)
Meet Abu Mujhid:
"Wait fifteen minutes," Abu Mujhid says after looking at his watch. Sipping a 7-UP soda after having broken his Ramadan fast just after nightfall in mid-November, Abu Mujhid -- not his real name -- has just been challenged by a reporter to prove he commands a resistance cell that performs violent attacks on American troops occupying his home town of Baghdad.
Yup, according to UPI, the individual calmly sipping the un-cola with ace reporter P. Mitchell Prothero is a "top member of an anti-U.S. Iraqi guerrilla group"
Sixteen minutes after Abu Mujhid told UPI to wait, four mortar rounds fired from a southwestern Baghdad neighborhood about 3 miles away flew overhead, landing in the compound of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority."God willing we hit something this time," he says, wryly smiling. "Our mortars are very inaccurate. We cannot wait to aim them, so we use timers.
Bet the farm: He said "Allah" but the UPI "translated". Also note the mortar timing was off by a minute. Let's read more from our intrepid freedom fighter:
"Saddam, I liked him. He was a strong leader," he says."But I was in the Baath Party and I knew that his men, mostly even Saddam's sons, were corrupt. They stole and stole from the Iraqi people.
For a minute I'll pretend a this former Baathist has repented from his sins and now wants a free Iraq, and ask why he's turned against the Americans, who want the same thing:
"They promised to liberate us from occupation, they promised us rights and liberty and my colleagues and I waited to make our decision on whether to fight until we saw how they would act."But for Abu Mujhid and his men these things never materialized.
Ahhhh, he got tired of waiting. After all those years of Saddam's rule I guess he's used to things being done quickly. Now nearly 40 weeks after the invasion he's not satisfied with the rate of change.
"They should have come and just given us food and some security," he said. "Even today I feel like I cannot drive my car at night because of Ali Baba (the Baghdad slang for criminals).""It was then I realized that they had come as occupiers and not as liberators," he says. "And my colleagues and I then voted to fight. So we began to meet and plan. We met with others and have tried to buy weapons. None of us are afraid to die, but it is hard. We are just men, workers, not soldiers."
So, given the opportunity to fight back, instead of confronting that criminal element he attacks the US for supposedly allowing the criminal element to thrive.
Sorry, no ring of truth there. Abu is a man with an agenda. And he is certainly not concerned with security in Baghdad, of that we can be sure.
And what about Saddam? Isn't he concerned about working for Saddam?
"We are told that Saddam might be at the top of the organization," he says. "I don't know if I believe that but my colleague has seen Saddam," he said. "He comes to tell my colleagues to continue to fight. But we look at him as a strong leader. But we don't want him back."But when asked if he thinks Saddam leads the resistance, he laughs.
"I think Saddam is too busy hiding," he says. "I think that the leaders above me are former generals who want to replace Saddam when the Americans leave."
"We actually took a vote at a meeting last week," he says, laughing. "If the Americans leave and Saddam comes back, we will fight him too. Maybe if he were elected we'd allow it. But no one in Iraq wants Saddam back. He turned into a thief and a murderer who made too many mistakes. We don't want Saddam, but American cannot occupy us any longer."
Well, maybe if Saddam comes back he'll be even angrier and you'll be first into the shredder, Abu-al-Einstein. But you've really been for him all along, haven't you? Something tells me you'd be first in line to kiss the soles of his shoes if he sat once more upon his golden throne.
Speaking of golden thrones, who's financing your group, Abu?
"We have to find ways to get our own money to buy weapons," he says. "The Baath Party members at the top were rich, but I don't think many of them help us fight. They don't send us money or weapons.""I have friends and colleagues who fight with the Army of Mohammed (a cell based in the Western Iraqi city of Fallujah) and they have more money for anti-aircraft weapons and explosives. Sometimes they help us, but mostly we are left to our own," he says.
But one source of support has been foreigners from other Arab countries.
In earlier interviews, Abu Mujahid acknowledged that both Syrian intelligence and al-Qaida members were operating in Iraq against the U.S.-led coalition forces but denied he received direct assistance from them. But in later interviews, he said he received support from some people he suspects have ties with terrorist organizations.
"In my neighborhood, we have many students from Yemen, Syria and Jordan," he says. "Several of them give us money to buy weapons and conduct operations."
When asked if he thought these students were members or supporters of al-Qaida, he smiles and shrugs.
"How does a student living in Iraq get money to give to me to buy RPG-7s (an anti-tank rocket common in the region)?" he asks. "They have to get their money somewhere. The Syrian ones I think they get money from their government, but we get some money from Yemenis and Saudis. I think they must belong to al-Qaida to have such money. But I don't ask such things. I don't like Osama bin Laden and don't want to fight jihad against America. The Iraqi people just want the Americans to leave our country."
He has, however, used the money to send men to Saudi Arabia to buy equipment.
Not sure what equipment he's buying, but as far as that whole "killing GI's thing" goes, Abu wants his allies in America to know it's nothing personal:
"But my colleagues and I don't hate the American people or even most of the soldiers," he says. "We just want them out of our land. If they promised to leave in one month and hold elections we would put down our arms. I don't want to kill anyone else. I don't want American to hate Iraq. I would wait to see if they left.""There have been some that say 'hello' or 'peace be unto you' in Arabic to me," he says. "They give our children sweets and do their jobs with respect. One of these men I even see as my friend. So we were conducting an operation, about to shoot at a Humvee one night when I realized it was the nice soldier. I told my man not to shoot him.
Do you really think "Peace be unto you" in Arabic will save our soldiers from these guys? I think our best defense is a good offense, like Operation IRON HAMMER.
"We have lost more men to these strikes and in arrests," he says. "One of our men was waiting to ambush a U.S. Humvee, when he was arrested. He was carrying a heavy machine gun, which is forbidden."
But not to worry, poor Abu has to cash for things other then "equipment":
But the man -- a guerrilla -- has a permit from the coalition to carry an AK-47 but was caught with a heavy machine gun. Abu Mujahid says his men paid an Iraqi translator $600 to replace the heavy gun with an AK-47 so their colleague can go free. Abu Mujahid expected the man to be released the next day.
Six hundred is big bucks in Iraq. By way of comparison,
(Reg req, use greyhawk and mudville)
FALLUJAH, Iraq – Like many Iraqi government employees, police 1st Lt. Ahmed Qassem faces a tough choice as he starts every workday: Stay at home and dramatically increase his chances of staying alive, or go to work and collect a $65 monthly paycheck.With great reluctance, he chooses the paycheck.
Nice that the reporter has insight into the man's state of mind. But could it be possible that not everyone in Iraq choses to hop down Abu Mujhid's bunny trail?
"This is our job, our duty. If I could make money doing something else, I would quit today," he said.
Frightening, since the "opposition" has money.
Lt. Qassem is among the thousands of Iraqis trained and employed by the Coalition Provisional Authority, or CPA, the U.S.-led government that has kept Iraq running since the fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in April.
Read this next bit carefully:
"In my opinion, the one who resists the occupiers is good. It is the thieves and looters who are bad. Our job is only to fight the thieves and looters," said Fallujah police Sgt. Fuad Naameh.Both he and Lt. Qassem stand guard each day outside the dilapidated building housing Fallujah's governing council, a U.S.-appointed body whose leader resigned last month after receiving repeated death threats. Fallujah, 35 miles west of Baghdad, is a hotbed of support for Mr. Hussein.
"We're not cooperating with the Americans," Lt. Qassem said. "Whenever they come here, we leave because we know they are going to be attacked. I'm not saying they are the enemy, but they are the occupiers."
At 65 bucks a month, these officers are willing to stop thieves and looters but not the Abu Mujhids. And "cooperating with the Americans" is becomming increasingly dangerous.
Sheik Ihsan Mudallat, a leading Sunni Muslim cleric in Fallujah and a vocal supporter of the insurgency, suggested that anyone who works with occupation forces understands the risks."We don't want this government in Fallujah. We want our own government, one that rules all of Iraq," he said. Asked whether he regarded Iraqis working for the coalition as legitimate targets, he responded with a shrug and a smile. "Ask them," he said.
The answer from one senior official:
Gen. Ahmad Qadhim, the senior deputy interior minister, said he resented the notion that cooperating with occupation authorities somehow branded him as a traitor. He proudly displays photos on his office wall of himself next to senior U.S. officials, including Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy defense secretary who visited Iraq in October and narrowly escaped injury during a rocket attack on his hotel. "We work with the coalition forces, but we do not work for them," Gen. Qadhim said. "I work for my country." Nevertheless, he said he has been the subject of death threats from Mr. Hussein.He quoted the latest taped message purportedly from Mr. Hussein, received on Nov. 27, as saying, "We must go to Gen. Ahmad, destroy all of his buildings and kill him directly."
"I have 12 bodyguards. Saddam has 12,000. ... Here is my message to Saddam: Go ahead. I'm not afraid," Gen. Qadhim said. "OK, kill me. I do this for my country."
Men of Qadhim's caliber deserve our support. Were we to follow the advice of so many of Abu Mujhid's employers' allies in America, we'd be gone, and Qadhim would be fed feet first into the shredder by Mujhid, while Saddam looked on drooling.
U.S. Army Col. Ralph Baker, of the 40th Engineer Battalion based in Baumholder, Germany, suggested that the U.S. presence gives many Iraqi civilians cause for concern as they carry out their work alongside their foreign counterparts.During a meeting two weeks ago of a district advisory council in central Baghdad, Col. Baker announced that the U.S. government had agreed to abolish the CPA in June, handing over full governing authority to Iraqis.
The council chairman, Abdul Amir Suaidy, said he welcomed the help Col. Baker and his staff had provided in organizing the council and insisted he was not afraid to die working alongside the Americans. Unless Iraqis cooperate and get to work on the thousands of needed reconstruction projects, he said, Iraq will be easy prey for its enemies. "They are afraid of democracy in Iraq," he said of the insurgents. "So they try as much as possible to prevent this democratic experiment from succeeding. ... We are not afraid. We know we are right."
The sides are chosen, the lines are drawn...
Welcome Iraq Now to the MilBlogs ring. If you haven't read Jason's reports from Iraq you're missing out on some insightful stuff. As fair and balanced a series of reports as I've seen anywhere.
Proud to have you aboard!
In what I hope is my final turkey post, I note my friend (and Friend of MilBlogs member) Scott Ott, (winner of the "Funniest Blog" award at the RWN Warblogger Awards) has something to say.
(And speaking of Warblogger Awards, congrats to Baldilocks, Sarah, and Smash - I note with some pride that 3 MilBlogs ring members are in the top 4 "up and coming". Smash is fairly high on the best over-all blogs list too. Well deserved, all. All gravy, No turkeys!)
Thanksgiving posts and War Fever? How could I not add this:
And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill, KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL," and he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me, sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."
The rest of the story:
Alice's Restaurant By Arlo Guthrie
This song is called Alice's Restaurant, and it's about Alice, and the
restaurant, but Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant,
that's just the name of the song, and that's why I called the song Alice's
Restaurant.
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on
Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the
restaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the
church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and
Fasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of
room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin' all that room,
seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn't
have to take out their garbage for a long time.
We got up there, we found all the garbage in there, and we decided it'd be
a friendly gesture for us to take the garbage down to the city dump. So
we took the half a ton of garbage, put it in the back of a red VW
microbus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed
on toward the city dump.
Well we got there and there was a big sign and a chain across across the
dump saying, "Closed on Thanksgiving." And we had never heard of a dump
closed on Thanksgiving before, and with tears in our eyes we drove off
into the sunset looking for another place to put the garbage.
We didn't find one. Until we came to a side road, and off the side of the
side road there was another fifteen foot cliff and at the bottom of the
cliff there was another pile of garbage. And we decided that one big pile
is better than two little piles, and rather than bring that one up we
decided to throw our's down.
That's what we did, and drove back to the church, had a thanksgiving
dinner that couldn't be beat, went to sleep and didn't get up until the
next morning, when we got a phone call from officer Obie. He said, "Kid,
we found your name on an envelope at the bottom of a half a ton of
garbage, and just wanted to know if you had any information about it." And
I said, "Yes, sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie, I put that envelope
under that garbage."
After speaking to Obie for about fourty-five minutes on the telephone we
finally arrived at the truth of the matter and said that we had to go down
and pick up the garbage, and also had to go down and speak to him at the
police officer's station. So we got in the red VW microbus with the
shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward the
police officer's station.
Now friends, there was only one or two things that Obie coulda done at
the police station, and the first was he could have given us a medal for
being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn't very likely, and
we didn't expect it, and the other thing was he could have bawled us out
and told us never to be see driving garbage around the vicinity again,
which is what we expected, but when we got to the police officer's station
there was a third possibility that we hadn't even counted upon, and we was
both immediately arrested. Handcuffed. And I said "Obie, I don't think I
can pick up the garbage with these handcuffs on." He said, "Shut up, kid.
Get in the back of the patrol car."
And that's what we did, sat in the back of the patrol car and drove to the
quote Scene of the Crime unquote. I want tell you about the town of
Stockbridge, Massachusets, where this happened here, they got three stop
signs, two police officers, and one police car, but when we got to the
Scene of the Crime there was five police officers and three police cars,
being the biggest crime of the last fifty years, and everybody wanted to
get in the newspaper story about it. And they was using up all kinds of
cop equipment that they had hanging around the police officer's station.
They was taking plaster tire tracks, foot prints, dog smelling prints, and
they took twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each
one was to be used as evidence against us. Took pictures of the approach,
the getaway, the northwest corner the southwest corner and that's not to
mention the aerial photography.
After the ordeal, we went back to the jail. Obie said he was going to put
us in the cell. Said, "Kid, I'm going to put you in the cell, I want your
wallet and your belt." And I said, "Obie, I can understand you wanting my
wallet so I don't have any money to spend in the cell, but what do you
want my belt for?" And he said, "Kid, we don't want any hangings." I
said, "Obie, did you think I was going to hang myself for littering?"
Obie said he was making sure, and friends Obie was, cause he took out the
toilet seat so I couldn't hit myself over the head and drown, and he took
out the toilet paper so I couldn't bend the bars roll out the - roll the
toilet paper out the window, slide down the roll and have an escape. Obie
was making sure, and it was about four or five hours later that Alice
(remember Alice? It's a song about Alice), Alice came by and with a few
nasty words to Obie on the side, bailed us out of jail, and we went back
to the church, had a another thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat,
and didn't get up until the next morning, when we all had to go to court.
We walked in, sat down, Obie came in with the twenty seven eight-by-ten
colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back
of each one, sat down. Man came in said, "All rise." We all stood up,
and Obie stood up with the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures, and the judge walked in sat down with a seeing eye dog, and he
sat down, we sat down. Obie looked at the seeing eye dog, and then at the
twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles and arrows
and a paragraph on the back of each one, and looked at the seeing eye dog.
And then at twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy pictures with circles
and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one and began to cry,
'cause Obie came to the realization that it was a typical case of American
blind justice, and there wasn't nothing he could do about it, and the
judge wasn't going to look at the twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy
pictures with the circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each
one explaining what each one was to be used as evidence against us. And
we was fined $50 and had to pick up the garbage in the snow, but thats not
what I came to tell you about.
Came to talk about the draft.
They got a building down New York City, it's called Whitehall Street,
where you walk in, you get injected, inspected, detected, infected,
neglected and selected. I went down to get my physical examination one
day, and I walked in, I sat down, got good and drunk the night before, so
I looked and felt my best when I went in that morning. `Cause I wanted to
look like the all-American kid from New York City, man I wanted, I wanted
to feel like the all-, I wanted to be the all American kid from New York,
and I walked in, sat down, I was hung down, brung down, hung up, and all
kinds o' mean nasty ugly things. And I waked in and sat down and they gave
me a piece of paper, said, "Kid, see the phsychiatrist, room 604."
And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I
wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and
guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill,
KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL," and
he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down
yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me,
sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."
Didn't feel too good about it.
Proceeded on down the hall gettin more injections, inspections,
detections, neglections and all kinds of stuff that they was doin' to me
at the thing there, and I was there for two hours, three hours, four
hours, I was there for a long time going through all kinds of mean nasty
ugly things and I was just having a tough time there, and they was
inspecting, injecting every single part of me, and they was leaving no
part untouched. Proceeded through, and when I finally came to the see the
last man, I walked in, walked in sat down after a whole big thing there,
and I walked up and said, "What do you want?" He said, "Kid, we only got
one question. Have you ever been arrested?"
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the Alice's Restaurant Massacre,
with full orchestration and five part harmony and stuff like that and all
the phenome... - and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, did you ever
go to court?"
And I proceeded to tell him the story of the twenty seven eight-by-ten
colour glossy pictures with the circles and arrows and the paragraph on
the back of each one, and he stopped me right there and said, "Kid, I want
you to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W .... NOW kid!!"
And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W's
where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after
committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly
looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And
they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the
bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest
father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean 'n' ugly
'n' nasty 'n' horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me
and said, "Kid, whad'ya get?" I said, "I didn't get nothing, I had to pay
$50 and pick up the garbage." He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?"
And I said, "Littering." And they all moved away from me on the bench
there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things, till I
said, "And creating a nuisance." And they all came back, shook my hand,
and we had a great time on the bench, talkin about crime, mother stabbing,
father raping, all kinds of groovy things that we was talking about on the
bench. And everything was fine, we was smoking cigarettes and all kinds of
things, until the Sargeant came over, had some paper in his hand, held it
up and said.
"Kids, this-piece-of-paper's-got-47-words-37-sentences-58-words-we-wanna-
know-details-of-the-crime-time-of-the-crime-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-
you-gotta-say-pertaining-to-and-about-the-crime-I-want-to-know-arresting-
officer's-name-and-any-other-kind-of-thing-you-gotta-say", and talked for
forty-five minutes and nobody understood a word that he said, but we had
fun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench there,
and I filled out the massacre with the four part harmony, and wrote it
down there, just like it was, and everything was fine and I put down the
pencil, and I turned over the piece of paper, and there, there on the
other side, in the middle of the other side, away from everything else on
the other side, in parentheses, capital letters, quotated, read the
following words:
("KID, HAVE YOU REHABILITATED YOURSELF?")
I went over to the sargent, said, "Sargeant, you got a lot a damn gall to
ask me if I've rehabilitated myself, I mean, I mean, I mean that just, I'm
sittin' here on the bench, I mean I'm sittin here on the Group W bench
'cause you want to know if I'm moral enough join the army, burn women,
kids, houses and villages after bein' a litterbug." He looked at me and
said, "Kid, we don't like your kind, and we're gonna send you fingerprints
off to Washington."
And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a
study in black and white of my fingerprints. And the only reason I'm
singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar
situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a
situation like that there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into
the shrink wherever you are ,just walk in say "Shrink, You can get
anything you want, at Alice's restaurant.". And walk out. You know, if
one person, just one person does it they may think he's really sick and
they won't take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,
they may think they're both faggots and they won't take either of them.
And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in
singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an
organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said
fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and
walking out. And friends they may thinks it's a movement.
And that's what it is , the Alice's Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and
all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come's around on the
guitar.
With feeling. So we'll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and
sing it when it does. Here it comes.
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
That was horrible. If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
I've been singing this song now for twenty five minutes. I could sing it
for another twenty five minutes. I'm not proud... or tired.
So we'll wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part
harmony and feeling.
We're just waitin' for it to come around is what we're doing.
All right now.
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Excepting Alice
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant
Da da da da da da da dum
At Alice's Restaurant
I've got a theory, well more "painful truism" that I consider one of my secrets to happiness. Since you've gone to the trouble to stop by I'll let you in on it:
If it weren't for bad days you'd never know when you were having a good one.
You either get that or you don't. There are many variations, and lots of things you can substitute for days and still have a fundamental truth. You must have a point of comparison to determine whether something is "good".
Now class, for a more detailed example, DarthVOB will explain to you why GI's generally know a good day when they see one.
Thankfully we've got plenty of docs in the MilBlogs ring, 'cause I think War Fever is a real threat to us all.
Your score shows you might not resist war fever. Your score for this survey was 33 out of a possible 52 points. Lower scores indicate less willingness to support acts of war.
The folks who put this together aren't kidding. Doc Russia has a post explaining the diagnosis process and you too should take the test to see if you're susceptable. (If his links aren't working you can get there by typing www.peacetest.org into your address bar).
I'm not a doc, but I think Idiotarianism is rampant here.
Maybe we can Blogathon for a cure.
Blackfive has an e-mail from a Captain who recently had a dinner with the CinC.
Troops bounded to their feet with shocked smiles and just began cheering with all their hearts. The building actually shook.
Wouldn't be the first building Bush had shaken in Baghdad. An overused cliche, but you do really want to read all of this one.
Because ground truth from one who was there makes a great contrast to this bit of ridiculousness.
While you're there check out more news from the front in Smash's great Sandbox Roundup too.
Thor is home. Go welcome a soldier back from a job well done.
Refreshing news from the UK, for those of you who've noted a little too much rampant patriotism in the American media. From The Telegraph (registration required):
Dyke Accuses US News Of 'Banging Drum On Iraq'Greg Dyke, the BBC director general, attacked American reporting of the war in Iraq and derided news organisations that were prepared to "bang the drum for one side or the other".
The BBC has been accused of allowing its perceived hostility to the conflict to colour coverage of the war and its aftermath, including the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction dossier story that led to the death of David Kelly, the weapons expert.
Mr Dyke, who was speaking after collecting an honorary award at the International Emmys in New York on Monday night, said the Iraq coverage illustrated the difference between the BBC and US networks.
"For any news organisation to act as a cheerleader for government is to undermine your credibility," he said.
"They should be balancing their coverage, not banging the drum for one side or the other." He cited research showing that of 840 experts interviewed on US news outlets during the war only four opposed the conflict.
"If that were true in Britain, the BBC would have failed in its duty," he said.
I always thought the duty of a news organization was to report the facts, free from opinion. But who am I to say?
Here then, is a look at some of that overwhelming pro-US, pro-Bush bias in the American media. The following quotes are from this past Thanksgiving weekend's network and cable news programs.
We'll start with the coverage of the Samara firefight, by all known facts an overwhelming American victory. From ABC (What does the "A" stand for?):
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT NOVEMBER 30, 2003 JEFFREY KOFMAN: Elizabeth, what is being called the fiercest, bloodiest firefight of this war since the end of major combat was declared, was fought this afternoon against insurgents.<...>
While this afternoon’s battle in Samara is clearly going to be seen as a victory for U.S. forces, it also raises disturbing questions about the power of the insurgents. This is the first time there has been any indication that the insurgents are capable of something of this size and are this well organized.
If the reports we are receiving from the area tonight are accurate they suggest that the opposition is much better organized than previously thought.
Elizabeth?
ELIZABETH VARGAS: All right. Jeffrey Kofman in Baghdad. Thank you.
The intensifying attacks on allied forces raise serious questions about the future of the U.S.-led coalition.
Wow. Guess maybe we won the battle but lost the war. Maybe it was NBC the BBC guy was talking about:
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS NOVEMBER 30, 2003JOHN SEIGENTHALER: The news this weekend that Spanish and Japanese operatives were killed in Iraq raises new challenges for the White House as President Bush tries to hold together a coalition to provide security and rebuild Iraq. NBC's Rosiland Jordan joins us now from the White House with more on that.
Good evening, Rosiland.
ROSILAND JORDAN: Good evening, John.
The Bush administration devoted a lot of time to building a coalition that was willing to go to war against Iraq. Today, officials said that coalition knew of the risks going in.
The bodies of seven Spanish intelligence officers were brought home tonight. The killings proof, said their Prime Minister, of the dangers facing all countries that believe in liberty and confirmation, Jose Maria Aznar said, the war in Iraq is key to fighting terror and Spain must be involved.
"We are where we have to be," he told his nation. Spain is one of 20 countries with troops in Iraq. They include Britain, Italy, Poland, and Australia. Japan, which lost two diplomats in a separate ambush yesterday, said today, it’s also committed to a peaceful Iraq. But it already has put plans to deploy some non-combat troops on hold because of other recent attacks on foreign soldiers.
Today’s images provided a sharp contrast to the scene at the Baghdad airport on Thanksgiving Day.
Analysts say the challenge for President Bush now is to convince other coalition members to ignore the editorials and protests against the Iraq policy.
MICHAEL O’HANLON [Foreign Policy Analyst]: This could make it harder to recruit new coalition members and could lead some people to look for a convenient excuse a few months down the road to bring their boys and girls home.
JORDAN: That and the extraordinary security measures used on the President’s trip highlight a fact of life in Iraq, according to a key Senate Republican...
Wow. Even the Prime Minister of Spain has been brainwashed by the pro-American bias. Even as Bush struggles to keep the coalition together he's saying his country is resolved to press on!
He must be watching too much CNN.
CNN SUNDAY CNN TV NOVEMBER 30, 2003MARTIN SAVIDGE: We begin in Iraq, where Iraqi rebels dressed in Fedayin uniforms tried to ambush U.S. convoys in Samara today. But in an extremely deadly firefight, U.S. forces got the upper hand. Our Walt Rodgers is in Baghdad with the details.
Walter?
<...>
WALTER RODGERS: Once again, it shows that while the United States claims it controls the battlefield, it's actually the guerrillas who generally tend to dictate where the battles will be fought and that battlefield is constantly shifting.
Martin?
Okay, now watch them turn the "pro America" dial up to 11, because CNN too has some coverage of the Presidents Thanksgiving with the troops.
SAVIDGE: After faking out much of the press corps and just about everybody else and spending the Thanksgiving holiday with U.S. troops in Iraq, President Bush is now back at the White House and settling down to his next big project – re-election. Here's our White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.SUZANNE MALVEAUX: President Bush is back in Washington, following a weekend at his Crawford ranch and his dramatic top-secret trip to Baghdad to share Thanksgiving with the troops. The trip, while widely seen as a successful morale booster, also opened up the president to criticism from those vying for his job.
GEN. WESLEY CLARK, RET.: The photo-op or whatever it was to Baghdad does not make up for a failed strategy.
MALVEAUX: And the president is readying himself for 11 months of aggressive campaigning. And these pictures of Mr. Bush and the troops are bound to help, but the White House also realizes that the situation in Iraq on the ground is also critical to a Bush win.
Martin?
SAVIDGE: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House, thank you very much.
By now most of you are probably tiring of all this hyperactive American flag waving. Too bad. Here's more turkey and stuffing from NBC.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS, NOVEMBER 29, 2003JOHN SEIGENTHALER: The enduring image this holiday weekend is President Bush serving Turkey to American soldiers in Iraq on Thanksgiving. NBC's David Gregory joins us now from Crawford, Texas, with more on the impact of the president's surprise visit to the troops.
DAVID GREGORY: Well, John, with White House aides still celebrating that surprise successful trip to U.S. soldiers in Iraq, the debate is just beginning over its long-term political effects.
<...>
GREGORY: Unlike Mr. Bush's Top Gun landing on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln last May, Democrats have largely refrained from criticizing the President’s trip as a political stunt.
<...>
GREGORY: But others see the president trying to overcome criticism that he has remained distant from the sacrifices of U.S. troops by for instance avoiding funerals for fallen soldiers.
JOE LOCKHART [Fmr. Pres. Clinton Press Secretary]: This president has been conspicuously absent in dealing with the negative part of this story, the casualties and those families who have had to grieve the loss of their sons and daughters.
GREGORY: The Bush presidency has come to be defined by made-for-TV images, particularly since September 11.
GREGORY: For example, critics charge that the president's appearance below a mission accomplished banner onboard the aircraft carrier last spring backfired, proving premature. For now however, White House aides believe this trip was a success, giving the president as much of a lift as his visit gave the troops.
John?
SEIGENTHALER: NBC's David Gregory, thanks.
You know, the fact that the Democrats aren't attacking the President for his Thanksgiving trip makes me think they're brainwashed too! And have you noticed how the network news folks never remind us that the President declared that no one anywhere would ever die again on that carrier last May? And wasn't there a banner?
Now watch in horror as CNN's Marty Savidge lets presidential historian Douglas Brinkley help cover up the "lying to the American people" angle of the trip.
CNN SATURDAY CNN TV NOVEMBER 29, 2003MARTIN SAVIDGE: It was a Thanksgiving Day surprise with all the trimmings. We're talking about President Bush and his visit to Baghdad. The top secret flight into Baghdad made history, because of the visitor and the destination, but it was certainly not the first time a U.S. president has slipped out of the country on a covert mission.
Joining us with some context and some insight is one of our favorites, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley of the Eisenhower Center at the University of New Orleans. Good to have you with us again.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY [Presidential Historian]: Oh, thanks for having me.
SAVIDGE: Well, let's talk about this. Historically, what are some other great hoodwink jobs that have been done by presidents on the move?
BRINKLEY: (Discusses numerous similar events in history)
SAVIDGE: Well, should we be bothered? Obviously it was a big success. Went over tremendously well with the troops. But should Americans be bothered by the fact that they were basically lied to about the whereabouts of the president?
<...>
BRINKLEY: ...Instead, he's able to make the history books. Even if it's only for a day, for a very historic secret mission. And certainly for those troops who are stationed, the men and women in Iraq, it had to wonderful to be able email home and get on the telephone and say, hey mom, hey dad, guess who I got to meet today? George Bush.
SAVIDGE: Absolutely. But will this be remembered as one of the great hijinks of history? At least for a president?
Let's move on...
CBS EVENING NEWS CBS TV, NOVEMBER 28, 2003JOHN ROBERTS: One day after President Bush’s surprise visit to Baghdad there was more of what we have come to expect in Iraq. Guerrilla mortar fire killed one U.S. soldier at a 101st Airborne Division base in the northern city of Mosul.
<...>
But Allen Pizzey reports the president’s Thanksgiving visit still had U.S. troops buzzing today and many Iraqis grumbling.
<...>
ALLEN PIZZEY: As upbeat as the soldiers were about the presidential drop-in, out on the street today there were more people than usual eager to explain the realities Mr. Bush did not see or hear.
"I don’t think most Iraqis are overwhelmed by Mr. Bush," [phonetic] Najim Tamimi says. "The Americans are an occupation force."
And many doubt the motives of the surprise two-hour visit that didn’t extend beyond the mess hall.
DR. SAMIR MOHADDIN [surgeon]: I think this is good for him for re-election in the next year.
RA’AD AHMED [engineer]: Nothing for say in Iraq, and is only something for him and the Army, that’s all.
PIZZEY: Most agree the U.S. effort here has made things better, but they are quick to point out that more is needed.
"We want safety and security," this girl says. "We need a leader."
The recently opened upscale C'est Si Bon Restaurant is an indication that at least some of the population are doing well. But even here, they dismiss the Bush visit, albeit with typical Arab grace.
BATA TAHA [Baghdad resident]: Bush came for just two hours and a half; no one see him here. But, you know, he’s welcome.
PIZZEY: It’s not an invitation Mr. Bush is expected to take up anytime soon, which means his view of the country will likely remain a warm one.
Allen Pizzey, CBS News, Baghdad.
I don't know about you, but that whole segment reminds me of how we never stop to consider what the Iraqis think. In fact, no sooner had they finished that story then the mind-control folks at CBS turned to covering how the Democrats loved the Bush visit.
ROBERTS: The president’s Baghdad visit made history and the front page of just about every newspaper in America today.As for the reaction here, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Atkisson has that part of the story tonight.
SHARYL ATKISSON: As President Bush landed back home in Texas with a spring in his step, he might have been giving thanks for how well his surprise trip to Iraq was playing on the home front. It even drew praise from his political opponents, like Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
U.S. SEN. JOHN KERRY [Democratic presidential candidate]: I thought it was terrific. I’m pleased the president did that. I think it’s the right thing for a president to do.
ATKISSON: Donna Brazile is a Democratic strategist.
Is there anything bad you can say about the president making that trip?
DONNA BRAZILE [Democratic strategist]: I don’t think so. I think that his critics will also agree it was the right thing for him to do on Thanksgiving.
ATKISSON: Those positive images of the commander in chief, arms around the troops he’d sent off to war, may help cancel out the last enduring image of Mr. Bush on an aircraft carrier last May when he boasted of success in Iraq. That’s been called into doubt by rising casualties.
Image building always brings a risk. Some view Iraq as the president’s greatest vulnerability in the upcoming election. His Thanksgiving Day visit ties in inextricably to the war and, ultimately, to its outcome.
BRAZILE: I think this will make his critics even more daring and outline some of the failures of this administration in terms of the war on terrorism, the way we’ve conducted it, and they will remind people that this is Bush’s war on Iraq.
ATKISSON: For better or for worse, in the end, if most Americans conclude the Iraq war was a disaster, the president’s visit there could be parody. If that turns out well, it could serve as an enduring image of his presidency’s strength.
Sharyl Atkisson, CBS News, the White House.
When will someone report the truth about the carrier landing? Aren't there any Democrats brave enough to point out the pure political motivation of the president's trip? The absolute failure in Iraq that led to the need for total secrecy?
JOHN ROBERTS: Today, U.S. troops in Iraq had another prominent but not so secret visitor, New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. The former first lady spent about 10 hours in Baghdad sharing a post-Thanksgiving meal with soldiers and meeting privately with American military commanders and civilian administrators.
In case you missed the contrast in secrecy and duration of the visits, NBC will provide more detail.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS NOVEMBER 28, 2003President Bush Visits Baghdad
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Good evening. We are fairly certain the president is spending this evening at his Texas ranch. But, then again, that's where the whole world thought he was yesterday, right up until we learned of an elaborate and top secret trip to Baghdad for Thanksgiving dinner. Details of the stealthy voyage are just now coming to light. Reporters on the trip, who had their cell phone batteries taken away so they could tell no one, are free now to talk about it.
<...>
WILLIAMS: When it was all over the White House proudly pointed out the president was right there in the cockpit of Air Force One for the rather harrowing nighttime landing at Baghdad Airport.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on a previously planned trip of her own to Baghdad visited with U.S. troops there today and praised the president's lightning fast journey as a morale booster. She did criticize the president's overall war strategy while touring with Rhode Island Democratic Senator Jack Reid by saying there were not enough soldiers presently in Iraq to do the job.
See the bias? They're slamming Hillary for not being in the cockpit. And I guess we've either got to credit the Dems for not attacking the CinC's visit with the troops or wonder why the networks refuse to report negative aspects of the news.
LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE CNN TV NOVEMBER 28, 2003JOHN KING: One day after President Bush's dramatic visit to Baghdad, a reminder today that the war goes on in Iraq and American troops are being killed almost every day. Insurgents today killed a U.S. soldier in a mortar attack in Mosul. The president visited Iraq, despite the persistent attacks on U.S. troops and on Iraqis. The continuing violence is one of the biggest potential threats to the president's reelection prospects.
White House correspondent Dana Bash reports tonight from near the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, on the president's dramatic trip and the day-after reaction -- Dana.
DANA BASH: Well, John, the White House is still basking in the glow of what they were able to pull off, the stealth mission, to Iraq, the images it provided, and the buzz surrounding it over the past 24 hours.
But they know all too well, John, from experience, that positive news, positive images are a single event, could not necessarily have staying power. And it is the violence and the president's policies in Iraq that they are most concerned about for the long term.
<...>
BASH: But, of course, this is, John, an election year. And anything that the president does, whether they say it is -- was for political reasons or not is seen through that prism.
And the White House did focus on the images with the president and the troops. That made it hard for Democrats to criticize. The candidates out on the campaign trail were very careful in saying that they understand it is important for a commander in chief to visit troops abroad, but they also were very careful to quickly try to turn it back to the president's policy in Iraq, Howard Dean saying that the men and women shouldn't be there in the first place, and John Kerry saying that it is a shooting gallery there and that is the issue. It is the president's policy. That's what John Kerry and Howard Dean both said today -- John.
<...>
KING: Dana Bash, live for us from near the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where we assume where the president is, where they say he is, tonight -- thank you, Dana.
Ahhh... the White House made it hard for Democrats to criticize the trip. Let me read that again... yep, it was the White House.
You know who might be the most effective propaganda tool of the administration? NPR - they're paid for by public funds, you know.
MORNING EDITION NPR RADIO, NOVEMBER 28, 2003President Bush Visits Baghdad
BOB EDWARDS: President Bush is back in the United States after a top-secret whirlwind visit to Baghdad International Airport. The surprise visit from the commander-in-chief was a morale boost for weary troops in Iraq and a media coup for a White House seeking to restore public confidence in the management of the postwar conflict.
<...>
EDWARDS: NPR White House Correspondent Don Gonyea joins me now.
Good morning Don.
DON GONYEA: Good morning.
<...>
EDWARDS: He didn’t land on an aircraft carrier this time.
GONYEA: No. That was back in May. That was when he landed on the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln out in the Pacific to declare an end to major combat operations. That one was one big flag waving victory party, complete with the mission accomplished sign that the White House has since tried to distance itself from. This one again, the whole point was to be invisible ‘til after the fact and there’s something about appearing before troops who are still out there, facing serious risk everyday that made it clearly calculated to be a more humble visit. Perhaps because of the lesson learned from that U.S.S. Lincoln landing. That has been widely criticized as a big future of Bush campaign commercial. This one certainly has political overtones, the White House says the reason to go was to thank the troops, but I’m sure the Bush-Cheney ’04 Campaign loves the pictures they’ve seen and they’re certainly thinking that this went off well and that a lot of people around the country today are probably saying hey, that was a pretty gutsy move on the part of the president yesterday.
EDWARDS: Well, others will be saying something else.
GONYEA: Indeed.
"Indeed."
Thankfully we've got the BBC, who won't shy away from reporting the downside of the news, who bravely announce criticism of the president, and who don't forget carrier landings under giant banners that say "No one anywhere will ever die again!!!!" a mere few months after they occur.
According to the BBC's Dyke, continuing with his heroic acceptance speech for his network's award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in New York, sometimes you've just got to rock the boat:
"Telling people what they want to hear is not doing them any favours. It may not be comfortable to challenge governments or even popular opinion, but it is what we are here to do." Mr Dyke said there was an appetite for such news in America, judging by the growth in demand there for BBC news on the World Service, the internet and the television channel BBC World.
Wow, I guess there would be a market for that, since we can't get truth from our government-controlled media tools.
Funny he should say "appetite" though, in light of this bit of news from the UK, as reported in the WSJ Online's Best of the Web Today:
Ha'aretz reports that the British Political Cartoon Society has awarded its Cartoon of the Year award to Dave Brown of the Independent, a far-left broadsheet, for a strip depicting the prime minister of Israel eating an Arab infant.
Yummy.
Via Blackfive, a great and easy (free) way to make a charitable contribution:
Campbell's is donating a can of soup (up to 5 million cans!) to the needy for every person that goes to their site and votes for their favorite NFL team. Go to this site and it is right there, and it's very easy to do.
Current top 5:
1. Green Bay Packers 314,075
2. Kansas City Chiefs 271,761
3. Minnesota Vikings 192,878
4. Dallas Cowboys 79,430
5. New England Patriots 77,677
With 2.1 Million cans so far, there's still plenty to give away.
Whatchoo waiting for? Click click click!
MilBlogger John of Argghhh! Has a great 'lessons learned' post on Iraq. This is the along the lines of the "how we can do better" thinking that the Sec Def was encouraging folks to engage in in a leaked memo a few weeks back. (This being a bit lower level, vs the "big picture" view the secretary had in mind.) It's the type of thinking the Lefties absolutely can't comprehend, or see as an admission of failure.
It's the kind of thinking that wins wars.
Details you may or may not have heard regarding the Samara firefight, as reported on CNN TV, Sunday, November 30, 2003
MARTIN SAVIDGE: We begin in Iraq, where Iraqi rebels dressed in Fedayin uniforms tried to ambush U.S. convoys in Samara today. But in an extremely deadly firefight, U.S. forces got the upper hand. Our Walt Rodgers is in Baghdad with the details.Walter?
WALTER RODGERS: Hello Martin. This time it was the Americans' turn to draw blood and they drew it big time. Two convoys – logistical supply convoys were going from the 4th Infantry Division through Samara, a town on the Tigris river, about 75 miles northwest of Baghdad. Suddenly, both convoys were ambushed simultaneously in separate parts of Samara. The Iraqi insurgents poured down rocket-propelled grenades, they fired mortars, there was machine gun fire poured down on the U.S. convoys – 4th Infantry Division convoys. But it was all bravado, because what happened was even while the Iraqis were taking cover in buildings, the Americans had tanks in their M1-A1 Abrams 120 mm cannon. When they turned those cannons on the buildings – the three buildings in which the Iraqi insurgents had taken cover – and let fly with those cannon, the buildings simply crumbled and disintegrated. Additionally, there were Bradley fighting vehicles with 25 mm rapid fire canon. Those, too, disintegrate the walls. Any Iraqis who were in that particular area became instant casualties.
Lieutenant Colonel William MacDonald is with the 4th Infantry Division.
LT. COL. WILLIAM MACDONALD: It sounds like the attack had some coordination to it, but the soldiers responded, used their firepower, used tank and Bradley fire and other weapons available to them to stop this attack, and take the fight to the enemy.
RODGERS: When the Iraqis threw up a barricade, the American armored just simply crushed it and rolled through it. It was a running firefight along two separate routes through Samara. At the end of the day, there were at least 46 Iraqis dead, many of them believed to be Fedayin, that is, they were wearing the black uniforms of those loyal to Saddam Hussein, 18 Iraqis wounded, eight others captured. The American casualties? Minimal. Five soldiers injured, none of them life threatening.
Martin?
SAVIDGE: Thank you. Walt Rodgers, reporting live from Baghdad, we'll be hearing more from you later.
And lest you think CNN has suddenly become some sort of pro-US network, here's Walt's final words from that "more from you later":
RODGERS: Once again, it shows that while the United States claims it controls the battlefield, it's actually the guerrillas who generally tend to dictate where the battles will be fought and that battlefield is constantly shifting.Martin?
And now of course, CNN is reporting "debate" on the number of casualties.
A bit late in the game, perhaps, and certainly with interesting timing, a senior intelligence official has countered media misconceptions, misperceptions, or misrepresentations of the intelligence community's pre-war assessment of the Iraqi WMD issue.
Stuart A. Cohen, Vice Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, has authored a document titled "Iraq's WMD Programs: Culling Hard Facts from Soft Myths" available as a press release on the CIA homepage. (An edited version was published in the November 28th Washington Post.)
Cohen was named Vice Chairman, National Intelligence Council in February 2003 after serving as Acting Chairman and Acting Vice Chairman since May 2002. He was appointed Director, Senior Review, Production and Analysis Staff and National Intelligence Officer At-Large in September 1998. In previous assignments, he served as Special Assistant to DCI William J. Casey; Deputy Executive Secretary, CIA; Director, DCI Nonproliferation Center; Chief, Inspections and Monitoring Support Staff; Chief, Counterintelligence Analysis Group; Chief of CIA's Directorate of Operations' Soviet and East European Intelligence Services Group; Deputy Chief, Arms Control Intelligence Staff; and Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Strategic Programs.
The National Intelligence Council (NIC) reports to the Director of Central Intelligence, providing coordinated analyses of foreign policy issues for the President and other senior policy makers.
The NIC includes a Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Officers drawn from government, academia, and the private sector. Their work ranges from brief analyses of current issues to “over the horizon” estimates of broader trends at work in the world.
In the document Cohen identifies and dispels 10 myths regarding the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction.
Some highlights:
Myth #1: The Estimate favored going to war: Intelligence judgments, including NIEs, are policy neutral. We do not propose policies and the Estimate in no way sought to sway policymakers toward a particular course of action. We described what we judged were Saddam's WMD programs and capabilities and how and when he might use them and left it to policymakers, as we always do, to determine the appropriate course of action.Myth #2: Analysts were pressured to change judgments to meet the needs of the Bush Administration: The judgments presented in the October 2002 NIE were based on data acquired and analyzed over fifteen years. Any changes in judgments over that period were based on new evidence, including clandestinely collected information that led to new analysis. Our judgments were presented to three different Administrations.
Myth #3: NIE judgments were news to Congress: Over the past fifteen years our assessments on Iraq WMD issues have been presented routinely to six different congressional committees including the two oversight committees, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. To the best of my knowledge, prior to this NIE, these committees never came back to us with a concern of bias or an assertion that we had gotten it wrong.
Myth #4: We buried divergent views and concealed uncertainties: Diverse agency views, particularly on whether Baghdad was reconstituting its uranium enrichment effort and as a subset of that, the purposes of attempted Iraqi aluminum tube purchases, were fully vetted during the coordination process. Alternative views presented by the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the Department of State, the Office of Intelligence in the Department of Energy, and by the US Air Force were showcased in the National Intelligence Estimate and were acknowledged in unclassified papers on the subject.
Myth #5: Major NIE judgments were based on single sources: Overwhelmingly, major judgments in the NIE on WMD were based on multiple sources–often from human intelligence, satellite imagery, and communications intercepts. Not only is the allegation wrong, but it is also worth noting that it is not even a valid measure of the quality of intelligence performance. A single human source with direct access to a specific program and whose judgment and performance have proven reliable can provide the "crown jewels"; in the early 1960s Colonel Oleg Penkovskiy, who was then this country's only penetration of the Soviet high command, was just such a source. His information enabled President Kennedy to stare down a Soviet threat emanating from Cuba, and his information informed US intelligence analysis for more than two decades thereafter. In short, the charge is both wrong and meaningless.
Cohen's myth #9 is vital to the "imminent threat" vs. action to prevent imminent threat argument.
Myth #9: We mistook rapid mobilization programs for actual weapons: There is practically no difference in threat between a standing chemical and biological weapons capability and one that could be mobilized quickly with little chance of detection. The Estimate acknowledged that Saddam was seeking rapid mobilization capabilities that he could invigorate on short notice. Those who find such programs to be less of a threat than actual weapons should understand that Iraqi denial and deception activities virtually would have ensured our inability to detect the activation of such efforts. Even with "only" rapid mobilization capabilities, Saddam would have been able to achieve production and stockpiling of chemical and biological weapons in the midst of a crisis, and the Intelligence Community would have had little, if any, chance of detecting this activity, particularly in the case of BW. In the case of chemical weapons, although we might have detected indicators of mobilization activity, we would have been hard pressed to accurately interpret such evidence. Those who conclude that no threat existed because actual weapons have not yet been found do not understand the significance posed by biological and chemical warfare programs in the hands of tyrants.
And his final myth addresses the "where are the WMDs now?" question, with an implied answer that begs more questions.
Myth #10: The NIE asserted that there were "large WMD stockpiles" and because we haven't found them, Baghdad had no WMD: ...We judged that Iraq probably possessed one hundred to five hundred metric tons of CW munitions fill. One hundred metric tons would fit in a backyard swimming pool; five hundred could be hidden in a small warehouse. We made no assessment of the size of Iraq's biological weapons holdings but a biological weapon can be carried in a small container. (And of course, we judged that Saddam did not have a nuclear weapon.) When the Iraq Survey Group (ISG), led by David Kay, issued its interim report in October, acknowledging that it had not found chemical or biological weapons, the inspectors had then visited only ten of the 130 major ammunition depots in Iraq; these ammunition dumps are huge, sometimes five miles by five miles on a side. Two depots alone are roughly the size of Manhattan.
Sobering thoughts. In the interest of being able to sleep at night, I prefer the response to myth #9 as the answer to "where are they now?" However, earlier in the document Cohen states:
Let me be clear: The NIE judged with high confidence that Iraq had chemical and biological weapons as well as missiles with ranges in excess of the 150 km limit imposed by the UN Security Council, and with moderate confidence that Iraq did not have nuclear weapons. These judgments were essentially the same conclusions reached by the United Nations and by a wide array of intelligence services—friendly and unfriendly alike. The only government in the world that claimed that Iraq was not working on, and did not have, biological and chemical weapons or prohibited missile systems was in Baghdad.
Strange, perhaps, that if weapons aren't found I will hope they were telling the truth.
Apparently Gerry Trudeau thinks GI's in Iraq are either too stupid or too afraid to speak for themselves, so from the comfort of his studio he bravely speaks out for them, for pay.
Ain't Free Speech wonderful? Don't you wish everyone had it?
Frank's an idea man, always full of great ideas. His latest greatest idea is to have more readers. I wish I'd had that idea, but since Frank had it first it's his.
Go read Franks blog. Laugh. Later you will read something in the blogoshere to make you angry or perhaps sad or both. Laugh now, while you can.
